The ACC issued a reprimand of Karl Hess tonight. However, the "reprimand" basically involved the ACC praising Karl Hess' officiating and accusing Corch and Googs of inciting the crowd and excessive demonstrations. In other words, "Screw you NC State, Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta."
It's time for NC State basketball to fight back. The Karl Hess incident has pushed many State fans over the edge with respect to their opinion of the ACC and tension is at an all time high. State cannot keep getting pushed around like this, and I know Debbie Yow will not stand for it. The ACC is never going to stand with us, so the only thing we can do is push them right back. We cannot accept this "reprimand" and must refuse to let this issue die.
Yow's honoring of the '88-'89 team is a great step in the right direction, as it's a not-so-subtle retort to the events that have transpired over the past 55 hours.
As fans, this needs to be a reminder and motivation to never give up on our team and to do all we can to support them throughout Tuesday's game- and every game, for that matter. I have no doubt that State will be in foul trouble Tuesday night and that things won't always go the Pack's way. Regardless, our team needs to feed off our energy, passion and even anger. Bring back that hostile Reynolds environment and we give our guys a chance to upset the Tar Heels. I've seen much worse NC State teams beat better Carolina teams. It can happen.
Adding to all this ACC-Hess angst is the fact that the Pack is in desperate need of a big win to get into the NCAA Tournament. Whatever happened is in the past- the Duke loss, the FSU debacle- forget that stuff. There's really only one thing State can do that will make everything right again.
WIN.
