Students have long enjoyed their traditions, memories and Wolfpack pride at Carter-Finley Stadium, but for some, one of the greatest joys lies in taking their Pack pride on the road.
Matthew Otto, a junior in business administration and the secretary of the Student Wolfpack Club, and Andrew Ferguson, a senior in business administration, are no strangers to displaying their love for N.C . State football at their opponents’ stadiums.
According to Otto, he has been to Virgina Tech, Clemson, Florida State and Wake Forest during his years as a student, but never to in-state rival Chapel Hill. He finds enjoyment in displaying the red and white with pride outside of Raleigh.
“When I normally talk to people that haven’t gone to a game before away, I say that there’s something different about being able to go somewhere else and wear your school’s colors and really project your pride,” Otto said. “We all love being here and going to games at Carter-Finley because it’s a great time, but it’s also fun to check out some other places and also represent your school.”
According to Otto, one of his favorite stadiums to visit lies in Blacksburg, Va ., the home of the Hokies .
“The best experience I’ve had was at Virginia Tech two years ago in the fall of 2009,” Otto said. “We lost, but they have the most hospitable fans, yet well represented. The stadium is nice, everyone is welcoming and obviously it’s very intimidating there because the crowd comes out and gets behind their team.”
For Ferguson, his participation in away games has been a recent occurrence.
“I went to my first away game my freshman year,” Ferguson said. “I went to Carolina for the away game. Last year is when I started getting into going to the most that I could. I went to three out of the five. I went to Carolina, ECU and Clemson.”
According to Ferguson, his spark to display Pack pride on the road came from his long-standing friendship with a member of the football team.
“One of my friends from high school got recruited as the backup quarterback, Tyler Brosious ,” Ferguson said. “We’ve been best friends since my eighth grade year of high school. I got the tickets for the ECU and Carolina games from him as a friends/family member ticket. That had a lot to do with why I wanted to go”
According to Ferguson, he finds it interesting to go to other schools and look at its fans’ traditions, some he believes are even worthy of being brought back to State to introduce to its fans.
“We took two car loads down there, stayed overnight and tried to experience as much as we could of how Clemson did their pregame and their tailgating and stuff like that and try to bring all of the things that we thought were unique and inventive back to N.C . State,” Ferguson said.
As far as which stadium holds the best fans, Ferguson believes its a tie between two schools in the Carolinas.
“It would probably be a close tie between Clemson and ECU,” Ferguson said. “We got to hang out with the students from Clemson and see what they did. Their tailgating, corn holes, cooking out and doing the stuff the way they did is a lot different from the way we do it. The most fun about going to ECU was their fans and how they were.”
For ECU, Ferguson enjoys the hostility that Greenville, N.C . presents.
“They were definitely not afraid to [represent] ECU and that’s exciting for me,” Ferguson said. “I really like to go into a hostile environment and get pointed out for wearing my N.C . State Wolfpack Club shirt.”
