DeacInVermont
Well-known member
In professional wrestling, there is a concept known as the heel turn where a character switches from being a "good guy" to a "bad guy".
As a long-time Wake fan, I'm tired... tired of hints of occasional success that only serve to make me long for it more when we ultimately disappoint... tired of thinking that anything we've experienced in men's hoops in the last two decades really resembles success... tired of watching our rivals cheat their way to championships- whether it is Duke players getting academic credits at NCCU or UNC players getting academic credits for showing up on campus for practice.
We've long held a holier-than-thou attitude about how we do things the "right" way and don't cut corners on the road to success, yet we never really reach our destination. While other teams field sustaining winning programs, we lurch about in a long, gray slog, proud to be one of the top 40 teams every few years. We even get a coach that everyone seems to love and plays an exciting brand of basketball only to have him smoten.
That is why it is time. It is time for the heel turn. It is time to live up to the black that drapes our shoulders.
What is the downside? When our best post players start the game with two fouls? When our road conference record looks like a team that is still on the death penalty? When half of our players leave for other schools or Israel after each season (as an aside, is it possible their departures are out of fear of Jamil "Fists of Stone" Jones?). When we keep showing up on the Today Show for one ridiculous story after another?
It's time to lean into the bad guy routine. Let's keep Jones on as assistant, but fire Manning and bring in Rick Pitino as head coach and Dave Bliss as a 2nd assistant. Let's nut-punch our way to victory. If we're going to get called for BS fouls anyway, let's make 'em count. We should have a reputation like the '80's Raiders or '90's Knicks. Let's do what NCState should have done but was too incompetent to manage.
We need a new kind of Wake Will. Wake Will kick your ass and then elbow your mom in the neck afterward for good measure. Wake Will make that Duke soft punk shooting guard think twice about initiating contact when driving to the basket. Wake Will make you stay away from the sideline unless you want to end up in the 3rd row of spectators. Wake Will make the refs inspect our knee pads for razors.
This is a call to arms, and legs, and feet, and fingernails, and teeth, and fists. It's time. Bad guys wear black.
As a long-time Wake fan, I'm tired... tired of hints of occasional success that only serve to make me long for it more when we ultimately disappoint... tired of thinking that anything we've experienced in men's hoops in the last two decades really resembles success... tired of watching our rivals cheat their way to championships- whether it is Duke players getting academic credits at NCCU or UNC players getting academic credits for showing up on campus for practice.
We've long held a holier-than-thou attitude about how we do things the "right" way and don't cut corners on the road to success, yet we never really reach our destination. While other teams field sustaining winning programs, we lurch about in a long, gray slog, proud to be one of the top 40 teams every few years. We even get a coach that everyone seems to love and plays an exciting brand of basketball only to have him smoten.
That is why it is time. It is time for the heel turn. It is time to live up to the black that drapes our shoulders.
What is the downside? When our best post players start the game with two fouls? When our road conference record looks like a team that is still on the death penalty? When half of our players leave for other schools or Israel after each season (as an aside, is it possible their departures are out of fear of Jamil "Fists of Stone" Jones?). When we keep showing up on the Today Show for one ridiculous story after another?
It's time to lean into the bad guy routine. Let's keep Jones on as assistant, but fire Manning and bring in Rick Pitino as head coach and Dave Bliss as a 2nd assistant. Let's nut-punch our way to victory. If we're going to get called for BS fouls anyway, let's make 'em count. We should have a reputation like the '80's Raiders or '90's Knicks. Let's do what NCState should have done but was too incompetent to manage.
We need a new kind of Wake Will. Wake Will kick your ass and then elbow your mom in the neck afterward for good measure. Wake Will make that Duke soft punk shooting guard think twice about initiating contact when driving to the basket. Wake Will make you stay away from the sideline unless you want to end up in the 3rd row of spectators. Wake Will make the refs inspect our knee pads for razors.
This is a call to arms, and legs, and feet, and fingernails, and teeth, and fists. It's time. Bad guys wear black.