On Dec. 28, NC State’s football team competed in the Military Bowl against East Carolina University in Annapolis, Maryland.

The game ended poorly for NC State, who lost 26-21. But, that wasn’t the most upsetting part. Similar to the events of the Duke’s Mayo Classic at the start of the season, many ECU fans exhibited poor behavior towards the NC State marching band and other spirit teams. The game left a sour taste in my mouth, and turned me off from attending bowl games going forward.

Let me explain.

First of all, NC State football has a history of performing terribly outside of the regular season. It doesn’t matter whether they won every single game or barely enough to qualify for a bowl game; they will find a way to lose. For those of you who do not know, to meet the requirements to attend a post-season bowl game, you have to win at least six games during the regular season.

At the end of the regular season, NC State had five wins right before our game against rival UNC-Chapel Hill. After an exceptionally close game — per usual for the Wolfpack — NC State was able to pry the win from the Tar Heels, 35-30. With that win, the Wolfpack became eligible for post-season bowl games.

NC State football consistently stumbles its way into bowl games only to consistently lose them. This pattern has led fans to call for Head Coach Dave Doeren’s replacement. Out of the nine bowl games that Doeren coached over the past ten years, he has only won three, with his last win being six seasons ago.

I have attended NC State football games since I was a kid, but I only remember the team under Doeren’s leadership. The best way I can describe what it is like to be an NC State fan is this popular quote from an interview with an Louisiana State University student: “I am paying 46,000 dollars a year and we are god-awful at football.” It truly is hard to be a Wolfpack football fan.

Regardless of the game’s score, other problems arose, making the whole experience even less enjoyable. I won’t even mention the 40-degree temperatures, constant drizzle and ever-wet socks.

The rivalry between NC State and ECU has always existed but has not always been apparent. The two teams don’t play each other often in any sport and the Military Bowl was one of the first times the two teams went head-to-head in quite a while.

Many NC State fans argue that there is no rivalry between the two teams because ECU is in the American Athletic Conference while NC State is in the Atlantic Coast Conference. ECU fans were especially worked up because leading to the game a few NC State players said that ECU wasn’t their “rival.” Regardless of rivalries and trash-talking players, some of the behavior exhibited by ECU fans was not acceptable.

I am an NC State marching band member, and I got a front-row seat to both the game and the ECU fanbase’s harsh words. Sadly, the crowd’s treatment of the marching band and other spirit teams was quite reminiscent of the Tennessee fans at The Mayo Classic.

After a nearly two-mile parade, myself and other members of the band had to make our way back to the busses to retrieve some equipment. To get back to the busses, we were forced to walk through a parking lot full of tailgates from both NC State and ECU fans. Most of the ECU fans were kind or playful with us, offering drinks or hotdogs. Occasionally we would get confronted or cursed out, but nothing that seemed too dangerous or concerning.

When we got back to the rest of the band, they told us that during our adventure, we had missed a group of ECU fans who had walked past the band and done much more heinous things. They were screaming expletives and throwing up ill hand gestures. Some fans even spitting at the members of the band. Luckily, no one experienced anything quite as bad as what took place at the Mayo Classic, and the members of the ECU marching band were very kind.

The relationship between the two bands was quite good. In fact, we warmed up in the same location before the parade and watched each other rehearse. Sections of the NC State band were taking pictures with their Pirate counterparts. At one point, right before the start of the parade, the two drumlines even had a drum battle and gathered quite a large crowd. It was all in good fun and everyone got along very well.

That is one thing that is pretty consistent throughout college football games: the spirit teams tend to support each other. Even during big rivalry games, it is highly unlikely that any of the marching band, cheerleaders or dance teams will have any issues with one another.

Unfortunately, due to the dangerous actions experienced at Duke’s Mayo Classic and the fact that the ECU fans stormed the field after their win, the NC State Marching Band was stuck in the stands for over an hour after the game ended due to the risk of being assaulted by overzealous fans.

If you didn’t know about the rivalry between the two teams, the massive brawl towards the end of the game should tell you everything you might need to know. The fight got so big that the referees got involved, getting directly into the line of fire. One referee even walked away with three large gashes across his face afterward. The brawl resulted in eight players, some from both teams, getting ejected from the game.

The game itself was pretty entertaining, and I was on the edge of my seat watching every play. The rivalry really reared its head during this game. Luckily, the NC State football team won’t have to wait long to take their revenge on ECU.

In a few months’ time, the football season will kick back into gear. The two schools have agreed to face off every year, and next season, it happens to be at NC State for the season’s opening game. I can’t wait to see how that game turns out, especially now that quarterback C.J. Bailey and the rest of the NC State football team have the motivation to beat their rivals from Greenville.

Bowl games, in theory, should be fun. It’s a chance for your team to play against a team they have few opportunities to compete with. But with all the mess that happened during this game and the previous bowl game this season, I don’t think I ever want to attend a bowl game again — not as a student, a band member or a fan. I will settle for just watching it on TV in the comfort of indoors. At least that way I will have dry feet and no fear of getting spat on.