Pack fans react to the news about James T. Valvano Arena
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The news came seemingly out of nowhere on Wednesday: Reynolds Coliseum will soon hold not just Kay Yow Court, but also James T. Valvano Arena.
The announcement was the result of a successful $5 million fundraising campaign headed by NC State Trustee Tom Cabaniss.
Valvano's former wife Pam Strasser told ABC11 that Cabaniss had approached her a couple months ago with his plan. She was stunned and overjoyed, knowing that Jim would've been impossibly touched by the gesture, given his love for the school.
With the fundraising finished Wednesday and a formal announcement, that feeling only intensified for her. Strasser wanted everyone at State, from fans on up, to know how much she and the family appreciated the school.
It goes without saying that Strasser and Valvano didn't always have the warm fuzzies for State in the immediate wake of his firing almost 30 years ago.
A good segment of the fanbase still harbors more than a little resentment about it as well. For the family, those feelings are long gone though.
Strasser said that the good that NC State has meant to her family far outweighs any bad that happened.
Here is was Pack fans are saying on Twitter:
The responses are obviously far from scientific, but the fact the tweet received a fair amount of likes seemed to indicate I had a pretty good sense of the general mood. There were some other interesting responses.
Some described emotion.
For others, it triggered nostalgia.
Nostalgia is not always a good thing when it brings back raw feelings. There is still bitterness out there at how Valvano was treated at the end of his tenure.
A few appreciated the gesture but would've liked something else much better.
With the addition of Valvano Arena, the verbiage of the building is undoubtedly a little bulky.
Valvano has a statue outside Reynolds and now his name will be on the arena inside.
It's a fitting tribute given the impact he had at State in his decade on campus.
We know though that his legacy though is so much bigger than State. The legendary speeches, the Eponymous Foundation and the countless lives that have been saved or bettered in his name.
