For the past five years, I've had season tickets for N.C. State football games at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, or "The Carter," as it's quickly becoming known (thanks Lil Wayne).
Seeing as my seats are right next to one of the visitor's sections, I've encountered lots of different fans from lots of different schools. Add to this the fans I came into contact with as a student at State, and I think I've come up with a pretty good idea of what fanbases are good, which ones are bad, and which ones deserve to have Godzilla come to their school and get his all-you-can-eat buffet on.
If I haven't come into contact with your school's fans, then clearly you don't matter/exist to me, so eat up. And if I have and the school didn't make the list, it's because when I think of your fans I just say "eh" and shrug my shoulders...I'm looking at you, Virginia and Georgia Tech. Others, like LSU, I've only met a few of their fans, and I've liked them, but I've never experienced them as a fanbase, so they don't make the list.
In the spirit of being fair, here are my favorite fanbases:
5. Wake Forest
More of a friendly rival than UNCheat or Duke. Although...once at a basketball game at Wake I got booed by the entire student section. Twice. Just for walking in front of them so I could go say hey to a friend of mine. Then for walking back to my seat. Good times.
This one can also turn ugly real fast, as evidenced in the suckerpunch game, when Chris Paul hit Julius Hodge in the ballsack. Me and a buddy of mine were so mad we prank-called Paul's dad at halftime.
4. Virginia Tech
Some people hate them, but all of my experiences with VT fans have been mostly good. Their comback win in Raleigh this season and watching their fans cheer their brains out made me want to dump green applesauce on their heads, but other than that they're okay. They were also super nice to the dejected State fans at the 2010 ACC Championship in Charlotte...mostly because the State fans (like myself) were pulling for VT to beat FSU.
3. Georgia
My little sister went to grad school here. Their gameday atmosphere is awesome, and people gave me free beer just for sitting next to them. Loved it. Anyone who has never been to a bigtime SEC football game needs to do so at least once in their lifetime.
2. Navy
Went to a State/Navy game up in Annapolis during the Philip Rivers era. Just the classiest bunch. Happy to see visiting fans, glad they're making the trek to Annapolis, very welcoming. Even their intro video, which poked fun at State, was classy. And funny.
True story...every student at the Naval Academy is required to attend every home football game. Every student there is also required to play a sport. Doesn't matter which one.
1. NC State
Duh...and now with Russell Wilson (sigh) at Wisconsin, many State fans will be pulling for them too. That's passion/loyalty/sexiness.
The worst fanbases...in descending order:
8. Pitt
A late addition to the list. Pitt played in Raleigh two years ago, and traveled pretty well for a school that's on the other side of the Mason-Dixon line. The first thing I noticed about the Pitt fans was that they don't wear Pitt gear...they wear Pittsburgh Steelers stuff. Granted, the teams both play at Heinz Field, but c'mon guys...we get it. You like the Steelers. You came down to the South and the only way you can feel superior to us "rednecks" is to let the world know that you love the Steelers. Good for you, here's a cookie, now move along.
To be fair, the Pitt fans were actually really nice and respectful...for the first half of the game, ie when they were winning. Once they started to collapse and head coach Dave Wannstedt had an aneurism on the field, their fans started throwing out F-bombs like it was the damn blitzkrieg. It's like they were as oblivious as Ron Burgundy when he told San Diego to go f*ck themselves.
7. Clemson
Not that they're bad fans, but they travel realllllly well, and their C! L! E! M! S! O!........N! chant is annoying. Especially after the tenth time you've heard it in a 12 minute span.
I once made a speech during a State/Clemson game about how Clemson, S.C. was the "armpit of hell" and then afterwards told a married couple who sang the fight song outside of the stadium that they were gay and loved butt sex. Later that night, I found out I had a fever of 101 degrees. Go figure.
I will say that after meeting Dabo Swinney and hearing him speak, he's not a bad guy. Still don't like the school though.
6. Duke
They would be higher, but there's just so few of them and they're so quiet during football season. They're so obnoxious and elitist, they're like their own little club. I once went to a State/Duke game in Cameron Indoor Stadium (Duke eleventy billion, NC State 29) and I had more than one fan look at me in shock, like "what are you doing here?" Also...Cameron is a dump. The building leaks in something like 20 different places when it rains.
5. Florida State
Nasty people. Just trashy. At least the ones who travel to Raleigh are. The others get pics of Brett Favre's crotchless Wranglers texted to them.
4. Maryland
Assholes, the lot of them. I will NEVER forgive them for throwing oranges on our field when they won the ACC in football. Never.
Update: Even with Gary "the sweathog" Williams gone, I hate them. Love the new helmets though, I mean...
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| It's a turtle shell. Wow guys. Just...wow. |
3. South Carolina
Dirty, greasy, and gross, in no particular order. Guess this is what happens when you can refer to your mascot as a 'Cock.
2. Notre Dame
Delusional + arrogance + WE'RE IRISH!!11!!! = turds of the highest order.
Thank the lord my only run-in with these fans on a widespread scale was at the 2003 Gator Bowl (NC State 28, Notre Dame 6, holler). Their fans refused to shake our hands, acted like we were scum of the earth, and thought we had no business what. so. ever. being on the same field as them. Not to mention me and my friends almost got into a fight with a group of them the night before the game. By the time the rout was on and the fourth quarter began, the ONLY Notre Dame fans left in the stadium was the marching band. Even the players' parents left.
1. UNCheat
State's arch-rival. To be honest, a LOT of UNCheat alums I've met are level-headed, fair-minded, and can be a hell of a lot of fun to talk to. It's more the other 95% of their fans I have a probelm with, aka, the Wal-Mart UNCheat fans, who usually look a little something like this:
I'm not kidding. These fans, so convinced of their moral, spiritual, and life superiority to anyone who doesn't root for UNCheat, love to gloat at any and all times about how great and "classy" their school is, and how awful yours is. They also like to say State isn't their rival, which is funny, since "Go to hell State" is a lyric in their fight song.
At the State/UNCheat football game two years ago in Raleigh (State 28, UNCheat 27), it was very, very easy to tell the alums from the Wal-Mart fans. The alums were all well-dressed, and the Wal-Mart fans were all rocking their 1990 UNCheat Starter pullover jackets...you which ones I'm talking about.
The recent football scandal has provided great fodder for us ABC'ers out there, because it's awesome watching them get knocked off their high horse, and it's even more fun watching their delusional fanbase explain the massive amount of cheating that's gone on at that school...utterly hilarious.
It is nice that State has beaten them four straight years...though this year with all of their problems just reeks of a UNCheat upset. Sigh.
MEGA UPDATE:
I completely forgot about disgusting East Carolina! Anyone who thinks State is "trash" needs to sit near a section of Pirates fans. They reek of day old beer breath and body odor. Arrrgh that's nasty.
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