The "Fire Bz" movement takes their cause to the print media, placing an advertisement in the Wake Forest student newspaper.
A vocal (and organized) group of Wake Forest basketball fans took their cause to the print media on Thursday, placing an advertisement in the Wake Forest student newspaper, the Old Gold and Black. The advertisement, sponsored by the anti-Jeff Bzdelik website FireBz.com, implores the Deacon faithful to let AD Ron Wellman know that "Tie-Dye Nation" is unhappy with the state of the basketball program.
A scanned image of the advertisement was sent via Twitter to Blogger So Dear by Wake Forest student Adam Bridgers, and has since been re-tweeted by ESPN's Darren Rovell and Eamonn Brennan, among others.
@bloggersodear OGB just came out twitter.com/AWBridgers/sta…
— Adam Bridgers (@AWBridgers) March 8, 2013
This is the latest in a series of very public volleys regarding the leadership of both the men's basketball program and the athletic department, in general. Blogger So Dear writer Samurai Foochs last addressed the matter in an article dated February 19, in which he opined that the vitriol surrounding this situation involved much more than the principals involved.
ESPN's Brennan, for his part, was shocked by a deluge of feedback from Deacon fans after he wrote a scathing commentary chastising the decision to cease taking callers on the weekly Wake Forest basketball radio show. Brennan was incredulous that the vast majority of the feedback were "Thank You" notes from frustrated Wake Forest fans and alumni.
While websites like FireBz.com are often nothing more than inflammatory platforms for exaggerated frustration, this site does offer some undeniable statistics. There is a dedicated "Stats" page, citing facts such as Bzdelik's woeful 2-47 conference road record at Colorado and Wake Forest and the exact date of the coach's last postseason win (March 13, 2008).
The national attention that this matter is now garnering will only pick up steam as the college basketball season comes to a close. What was once only discussed on this website is now a national story, and if not addressed promptly by the Wake Forest administration (one way or the other) may serve to damage the reputation of the University and its stakeholders.
