3/5/83

3/5/83

It’s a day in my history that changed my life.  Not necessarily immediately either.  Here’s what happened:  I’ve talked about one of my first best friends, Skins before.  Hoot & Skins were tight back in the day.  We played in the creek behind Goodwill’s house together.  My brother unmercifully picked on the both of us.  We unmercifully picked on his little sister and brother.  We rode bikes all over our hood.  Sometime right before 3/5/83, Skins invited me to go with him and his dad to a NC State basketball game.  Parents gave me the green light, so we hopped in the  and off to Raleigh we went.  Before we left, I didn’t really have a favorite college team.  I did enjoy watching sports, but just was a wayward drifter without a proverbial home.  Until 3/5/83 that is. 

State absolutely floored Wake that night (sorry, not sorry Tooth Fairy).  In fact, I recently looked up that score because in my mind, I remembered as a blood letting.  It was.  Score was 130 – 89.  Read that again.  130 – 89.  It was Senior Night.  We sat close to the student section.  Reynolds coliseum was going apeshit the whole game.  I yelled as loud as my little narrow behind could.  What a blast.  I remember Skins & I staying up talking to his grandfather – Huxie – that night after the game.  Dunk this.  3 pointer that.  Wake sucks.  Delany Rudd wears granny panties.  That sort of stuff.   

Of course, we all know how State followed that game up.  Incredible run through the ACC tourney.  Squeaking by every game in the NCAA’s.  I watched the final game vs Houston w/ Skins.  I remember jumping all over his furniture after my man Lorenzo Charles dunked that final bucket. 

That sealed the deal for me.  I’ve been a State fan ever since then.  Through thick & thin.  Mostly thin, but that’s what makes being a State fan so good.  Makes you hard and all that….at least that’s what I keep telling myself.    

But my life didn’t change just because I started pulling for State.    

Fast forward 9 years to 1992.  I was trying to decide what college to go to.  My list was UT, VaTech, and State and was leaning heavy at VaTech.  I had already visited UT & VT, but hadn’t visited State’s campus since 3/5/83.  If you haven’t visited west Raleigh before, State’s campus isn’t really known for having scenic duck ponds, quads, waterfalls, or hot chicks.  Hell, there are hardly any chicks for that matter.  Sidenote:  my M went there, be careful what you say next.   

Anyway, as I was strolling through campus I was unimpressed.  Nothing really was hitting for me.  As my mom and I were walking back to my car, we passed right by Reynolds.  The front door was open.  I told my moms, “let’s go in here”.  I will add that Reynold’s is an awesome building.  Yes, I’m biased, but it’s like a bigger Cameron Indoor Stadium with a lot of red inside.  As I walk in, I’m flooded with memories of 3/5/83.  The 1983 trophy is right in front of me on display.  There’s the 1974 one too.  Sidenote:  ACC’s greatest player ever – David Thompson.  Don’t even come at me with that MJ bullshit.  Keep walking through and the State team is practicing.  Tom Gugliotta.  Kevin Thompson.  Lakista McCulla.  Midjen Bakali.  Shut the front door.  This is awesome. 

That stop sealed the deal for me.  State was where I had to go.  Sidenote:  Let’s not mention that team I was watching sucked donkeys.  Anyone else remember how many times Bryant Feggins got shot and/or stabbed?  Answer:  lots.  A few years later Bakali tried to get into one of our frat parties.  One of the dudes that had door duty told him he couldn’t come in because he sucked.    The coach, Les Robinson, was arguably one of the worst coaches we’ve ever had.  In fact, I witnessed exactly zero conference W’s in my tenure there.  Zee-Row.  Todd Fuller?  He rode his bike all over campus.  Have you ever seen a 6′ – 11″ dude ride a bike?  It’s comical.  

I could go on and on on several topics.  I could name more of our crappy players and interactions with them.  I could also go on and on about decisions that I made while in school and right afterwards that led me to where I am today.  Work, spouse, where I live.  It sounds crazy to think about how much just going to a game with a friend influenced my life’s direction. 

So what’s your point Ed? 

Well the same could be said about F3.  Who’s life course are you going to alter by simply inviting them to join you at a workout?  It’s simple but it’s true.  There are cities full of sad clowns that need F3 as much as you do.  Tooth Fairy invited me and a gym full of dudes.  He changed lives by doing that.  It took some stones to do it too.  So pick up your phone, strike up a conversation and invite a guy to the gloom.  You could change a life. 

Go Pack. 

C Ed