Adam Jacono

We live in a society that propagates violence through video games, movies, and advertisements. Violence has always been associated with pirates; pillage and plunder is the ongoing motto. In the South, especially in Eastern Carolina there are numerous folktales about pirates inhabiting the waterways. One pirate regional to this area is Blackbeard, the ravaging maniac by some accounts would shoot crewmen on the fly and disgrace women at will. However, Blackbeards’ character is trademarked on nearly every ECU piece of kitsch: cups, hats, t-shirts, towels, stickers, etc.. He is personified as our school leader, our football team are his mates, and the school his deckhands. Pirate football is none other than an excuse to live the life of Blackbeard, drink till’ you’re on the ground, chase some tail, and maybe knock over a sculpture or two (http://www.dailyadvance.com/content/vandals-destroy-sculpture-ecu-campus-11354). I realize this is a bit cynical, and not all Pirates fans are this extreme. The point is, pirates contextualize a certain rowdiness that make football games a haven for partying in the name of violence.