Yo ho ho and a brand new coach

Pirate ship may set sail with Leach gone
Fans, retailers uncertain about future of Tech’s pirate association
By Julie Davis/Staff Writer

Pirate flags flew from truck beds, dorm windows and fences during football season, but as Texas Tech recovers from the loss of former head coach and pirate-enthusiast Mike Leach, the fate of the skull and crossbones symbol is uncertain.

Joseph Campos built the 12-foot remote-controlled boat christened Leach’s Revenge, which made its debut at the Oklahoma game last season. The ship was built in three months in honor of Leach, and the pirate theme naturally came with that, said Campos, a junior mechanical engineering major from Dallas.

“The plan is now to do research on the new head coach, (Tommy) Tuberville. I know he was called the ‘Riverboat Gambler’ at Mississippi, and hopefully I can retrofit this boat to match whatever theme he comes out with,” said Campos. “I want the pirate theme to continue, but Leach was really the only thing that kept it alive; he was the commodore to our fleet.”

Stephen Spiegelberg, a Tech alumnus and the owner and manager of Red Raider Outfitters on Broadway Street, said a T-shirt with “Same Team, New Management” on the front and the skull and crossbones on the back, has received more than 3,000 pre-orders, to include Tuberville and his sons. The store’s thought process is although the shirt itself is popular, students locally and fans nationally are still demanding the symbol on many other items. It transcends pirates; it’s the establishment of fear and danger.

“When you walk into Jones AT&T Stadium, it’s such a neat, neat feeling of tradition that Texas Tech has been able to create on its own,” Spiegelberg said. “It’s a symbol we can carry of legacies past. It’s like two captains saluting each other on passing ships. Our hopes are that the administration listens to the fan base, which obviously wants this symbol and tradition to carry on.”

I was kind of in love with the idea of the pirate gimmick being dropped. Partly because I had a post earlier this year ridiculing that Campos kid for building that ship when there was seemingly no harmony between Leach and his boss, making the possibility of Leach leaving likely.

More than anything I want Nebraska to be able to reclaim the skull and crossbones. With the return of the Blackshirts its time to see the Huskers start "throwin the bones" and flying the Blackshirts flag. Its awkward doing so when another Big 12 school has adopted it as their alternate logo. So now that Leach is gone the pirate stuff should just go away. And people can cool it with that Riverboat Gambler stuff. I remember Tuberville's offense at Auburn. I've seen riskier gambling at Casino Night at the Church of Christ.