East Carolina Pirates vs App State Mountaineers stadium sign.

ECU Football kicked off the 2021 season playing Appalachian State in Bank of America Stadium and I made a quick trip to Charlotte to see the game and visit ECU friends. The direct flight from Richmond was easy, aside from still wearing a boot to protect my foot. We all met up outside the stadium to tailgate. Once inside the stadium we found our seats and just as the game was kicking off the TV cameras panned to our group. Our phones and the phones of those around us started blowing up with friends saying they saw us on TV and sharing screen shots.

Screen shot of our group on TV during the game.

That would wind up being the highlight of the game as ECU would go on to loose. It was great to see everyone again and go to a football game for the first time in almost 2 years. I spent the night at Preston’s house and flew home the next day.

Our group at the game inside the stadium.

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Laurie, Jess and I were in Charlottesville to catch the UVA vs Duke Football game. It ended up being a bit of a blowout and it was great to see quarterback Bryce Perkins playing in person and dominating the game. The lopsided result made it a fun game to be at.

That night Jess and I stayed just west of Charlottesville and then went for a hike to McAfee Knob on the Appalachian Trail. The foggy conditions were a bit spooky but also meant we didn’t get much of a view for most of it. At the top we were entirely surrounded by fog. It was nice to be in nature and a fun hike.

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I know a regatta and an ECU football game in Annapolis is a rare thing and so today I was able to sail in the Laser District 11 Championship and attend ECU’s away game at Navy.  It was cool to see all of the midshipman in the pregame ceremonies and the flyover. It was downhill from there for ECU football loosing 42-10.

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Saturday I joined Jess and her family in Charlottesville for the UVA vs Liberty football game. We had a good tailgate spot and brought plenty of clothes to bundle up in the cold. We were going to leave early if the point differential ever got below the temperature. Being a 21 point game and not 35 we stayed until the end.

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We ended up with a beautiful day for ECU’s home game against Old Dominion University.  A week ago ODU beat Virginia Tech in Norfolk and so this was expected to be a pretty competitive game.  Jess joined the day trip down and we joined Lauren, Staci, Preston, Courtney and Chuck to tailgate with Jason and his crew.

We had great seats on the press box side in the shade.  ECU gave ODU a good game and pulled off the win with a late field goal.

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We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to kick off the 2018 ECU Football season. We found a shady and grassy spot in the Belk lot to spread out and hang out before the game.

As we were walking in we stopped to see our RV neighbors and found out the game was delayed. We would eventually go into the game, but just as we were getting to our seats, lightning delayed the game again.  We waited around for a few more hours before eventually pulling the plug and heading home when we realized a strong rain storm was headed our way.  Shortly after getting on the road ECU cancelled the game and decided to play it on Sunday.

We all headed back to Raleigh for the night, but instead of going to the game we stuck with our original plan for a round of golf. That ended up being one of the better rounds I’ve played shooting a 101 and it was a lot of fun. And ECU ended up loosing the game on Sunday.

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With only one more ECU Football game left for the season the game against Tulane would be the final one of the season for the entire group. The night game made it so we could hang out and tailgate all afternoon and Jess joined me for the trip to Greenville. The main item on the menu was frogmore stew. The game got interesting at the end as it went into overtime, but alas ECU wasn’t able to put points on the board and lost.

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