September 04, 2025
No clue who came up with UNCCH Football being “a sleeping giant” … the phrase itself has been around for centuries. It can be applied to any person or entity that has yet to reach its full potential … but someday it might and then …. LOOK OUT!
I “think” it might have been FSU’s Bobby Bowden 25+ years ago who somehow managed to whup the “sleeping giant” every time he played them. Regardless, the phrase has kept multi-generations of Tru-Blue Kenanites making Fall pilgrimmages “amid Kenan’s lofty pines” hoping against history that THIS will be The Year their “sleeping giant” arises from its slumber and assumes its rightful place in the pantheon of College Football Elite Power Programs.
There are, of course, a buncha college football programs across the fruited plain whose faithful fans consider THEIR program to just be the combination of “the right coach” and the right buncha “student-athletes” away from oh-so elusive Glory. All they lack is “a Bobby Bowden” to affirm the limitless potential of their Dear Ol’ Alma Mater.
Among that rather large buncha Elite Wannabees, UNCCH can claim to be a “Top Tier Wannabee” if Wannabees have “tiers”. 70+ years of regular Whozit Bowls and a bevy of players who have earned acclaim and gone on to professional stardom … and numerous seasons of 6-7-8- even 9-10 Ws (and a few now and then less than stellar) including all-time winning records versus Hated Rivals … IF one goes back far enough in the annals.
There have certainly been many “Thrillas” on Kenan’s real and artificial greensward over the decades. Both “Thrills of Victory & Agonies of Defeat. As well as outstanding individual performances.
If one measures UNCCH’s Football successes against “comparable programs” within the ACC – NCSU, Duke, UVa, WFU, et al … there is nothing to be ashamed of at all … or to be overly boastful about.
Perhaps the frustration of Kenan Faithful – defined as “anyone who has never left a Kenan game until at least the start of the 4th Quarter”) … is that UNCCH Football has never risen to the Elite Pantheon of UNCCH Mens’ Basketball … or Women’s Soccer … or Women’s Field Hockey. If those programs can be “Elite” why not Football?
Using a version of the “glass of water” analogy … should Tru Blues be grateful for three Elite Programs rather than whining and bemoaning the non-eliteness of its Football program? Many / most academic institutions have ZERO Elite sports programs.
Blah … Blah … Blah … Blah …. Thank you for hanging around to this point … when what you really want to know is
WHAT I THINK ABOUT ….
Why It Is a very very dangerous idea to OVER-HYPE an event over which one has little to no control of the outcome.
Especially when one’s team is a cobbled together collection of untested mercenaries … 87% of whom – nine months ago – (1) had never heard of The Old Well … (2) did not know or care how many Choos in Choo Choo … (3) have no clue if Tar Heel is one word or two (its two) … (4) being led by a 73 y/o coach … his 24 y/o sugar baby … and a cobbled together staff who can’t answer those first three questions either!
… and the opponent is a Power4 Big12 program out of Texas with 16 returning starters … and played for the National Championship just two years ago … and only lost by 58 ppoints to Georgia.
I was NOT consulted about the WHAT IF risk of OVER HYPING last Monday night’s game. I would have strongly recommended “let’s NOT do that” …
FWIW: I was also NOT consulted about hiring a 73 y/o former NFL coach – w/ a 24 y/o sugar baby – whose success as a Head Coach before … and after … having a generational QB was mediocre at best.
FWIW … UNCCh’s Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham was likewise NOT consulted about hiring that individual for $10,000,000/year for five years.
That whizbang decision – that registered a 9.6 on the national sports Richter Scale – was conceived and carried out by UNC Board of Trustees Chair John Preyer … who was “not really much of a football fan” until he fell under the spell of Right Reverend Mack Brown two years ago.
Bum Phillips once described Don Shula as “he can take his’n and beat your’n or take your’n and beat his’n.” That accolade has never been said about Bill Belichick despite his six Super Bowl rings … unless both his’n and your’n have Tom Brady as its QB.
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Lets be fair here …. when in its long 100 or so years of fielding football teams have UNCCH and Alabama been mentioned in the same Football headline? …. It happened this week.
Both institution’s teams were “whupped like rented mules” on national television. Probably NOT the way to Wake Up a Sleeping Giant.
One lop-sided butt whuppin’ – on national TV – does NOT a season make. It IS mathematically possible for Team Belichick to go 12-1 and automatically qualify for the College Football Playoffs. That road begins Saturday night in Charlotte …
IF that should happen or anything close to it … say 6-7 Ws and a Pop Tart Bowl or a Mayonaisse Bowl or … or … or and Trustee Chair John Preyer will be acclained a freakin’ genius and deserving of having a biscuit named in his honor at Time Out.
Speaking of The Right Reverend Mack Brown … didya see Ol’ Mack on the sidelines in The tOSU Shoe Saturday afternoon chumming up with Longhorn Super Fan Matthew McConaughey? I wonder how many of Matthew’s fans (of which I am one) can spell his last name correctly. I wonder if Mack can.
Some of BobLee’s Classics – HERE
