At the beginning of the season, I had no intention to go to the NCAA tourney this year, but the NCAA moving the game to Greenville S.C. made me think twice about 3 weeks ago when I thought there was a good possibility that my Tar Heels would be playing in the South Regional, and would be playing in Greenville....I was pissed to see Dook win the ACC title, and felt that had Berry not gotten into foul trouble that the Tar Heels would have swept the ACC Regular Season and Tourney as they had the year before....Unfortunately, that didn't happen, but I still felt they would get to play in Greenville, so I took a chance, and bought a couple tickets for me and my wife in advance of the NCAA announcement on Selection Sunday....
What I didn't know at the time was whether Dook would also be playing at the same venue in Greenville until they were chosen to do so....I had purchased the tickets for Session 3 which would be the 2nd round this past Sunday, and felt the Tar Heels would get past their first round opponent of which they did in convincing fashion last friday....As the first round unfolded, I quickly realized that it would be an ACC vs SEC Sunday evening matchup starting with Carolina and Arkansas, and I admit that I was a little worried right from the start since we had knocked the Razorbacks out of the 2nd round a couple years ago, and they had advanced to the SEC final, and had been playing their best basketball of the season of late....I was also interested in the Dook/South Carolina matchup after the Gamecocks blasted Wojo and the Marquette Warriors in the first round because I knew there would be a large contingent of South Carolina fans at "The Well" as it's called locally because it was the Gamecocks first NCAA victory in 44 years, dating back to 1973 which was the year after they left the ACC, so I knew their fans would be pumped for the matchup with Dook...
With Greenville only a little over an hour away over the border, my wife and I went down early on Sunday, and got one of the first parking spots next to the Arena, and didn't have to pay the $6.00 cost since we were there several hours before tip time at 6:10 pm for the Carolina/Arkansas matchup, so that gave us time to wonder around main street for several hours which we did, and enjoyed checking out all the shops and eateries, and stuck my head in the door of a couple establishments to check the Louisville/Michigan score, and watched the end of the Kentucky/Wichita State game looking in the door of the Roost which was packed with Gamecock and Dook fans....That morning we had brunch at a Bagel Steamer Restaurant, and I had my first Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a Blueberry steamed Bagel which was great....Being from the country, I've always been a Biscuit man myself, so it was a new experience for me....My wife had a Cinnamon Raisin Steamed Bagel with Cream Cheese....We walked down to the Reedy River to look at all the landscaping and shops, and the sidewalks were packed with Duke, Carolina and South Carolina fans with a few folks from Arkansas, and you could already feel the excitement starting to build for the NCAA Basketball games to come....About 3 p.m, we decided to head to Sticky Fingers BBQ to have some BBQ Ribs, and then headed up to the open area near the Roost to lounge around for about an hour before heading to the first game....
After heading to the Arena at about 5:30, we bought us a NCAA program, and a March Madness Tee Shirt before taking our seats for the game....The Coliseum was buzzing as the game began, and we were thoroughly enjoying the first half as the Tar Heels were in control early, but started getting anxious as the Hogs closed the gap at the half....As the 2nd half began, it just seemed that the Hogs were getting every bounce of the ball, and we couldn't do anything right as the lead evaporated to the delight of several Dook fans around us....As the game wound down, the smile and celebration on Dook fans' faces grew wider as we grew more nervous...With a little over 2 minutes left in the game, we were down by 3pts, and the Arkansas fans were feeling it, and the Dook fans were enjoying themselves with even the Dook pep band and Arkansas pep band having themselves a good ole time reveling in the expected demise of the the South's top seeded team...Right after a time out, Arkansas seemed to play not to lose as they used most of the shot clock with the shot clock expiring once on them, and Barford throwing up a desperate attempt from near midcourt on the next possession....The Tar Heels Berry was clearly fouled, but no call was made, and Meeks followed up with a big put back, and the Tar Heels took the lead....Hicks then made 4 Freethrows down the stretch, and my wife and I celebrated loudly to the displeasure of several fans around us: We ain't the "Wine and Cheese" type of Tar Heels fans that so many opponents like to poke fun at, and we let em' know who won the game....
As the Dook/South Carolina game began, some smug Dook fans around us were all laughing and having a good time when Dook jumped to an early lead, but they clearly looked a little worried when they were only up by 7pts at the half.....In the 2nd half, South Carolina seemingly couldn't miss, and the best part for me was when a South Carolina player made a shot which one official said didn't count....However, the other official on the other side of the court came over, and they changed the call to a made basket, and foul on Dook which enraged K-rat to my enjoyment, and I laughed out loud for about 2 minutes....Once South Carolina took control of the game, the Arena was electric with both Carolina fans cheering for the Cocks while cheering against the Dookies....First Matt Jones fouled out , then Kennard and finally Tatum, and the look on Dook fans' faces was truly priceless as many had their head in their hands, or over their mouths at the end of the game, and I loved it....
I turned to my wife before we left the Arena, and said, "Honey, days like today just don't get any better than this!"....
What I didn't know at the time was whether Dook would also be playing at the same venue in Greenville until they were chosen to do so....I had purchased the tickets for Session 3 which would be the 2nd round this past Sunday, and felt the Tar Heels would get past their first round opponent of which they did in convincing fashion last friday....As the first round unfolded, I quickly realized that it would be an ACC vs SEC Sunday evening matchup starting with Carolina and Arkansas, and I admit that I was a little worried right from the start since we had knocked the Razorbacks out of the 2nd round a couple years ago, and they had advanced to the SEC final, and had been playing their best basketball of the season of late....I was also interested in the Dook/South Carolina matchup after the Gamecocks blasted Wojo and the Marquette Warriors in the first round because I knew there would be a large contingent of South Carolina fans at "The Well" as it's called locally because it was the Gamecocks first NCAA victory in 44 years, dating back to 1973 which was the year after they left the ACC, so I knew their fans would be pumped for the matchup with Dook...
With Greenville only a little over an hour away over the border, my wife and I went down early on Sunday, and got one of the first parking spots next to the Arena, and didn't have to pay the $6.00 cost since we were there several hours before tip time at 6:10 pm for the Carolina/Arkansas matchup, so that gave us time to wonder around main street for several hours which we did, and enjoyed checking out all the shops and eateries, and stuck my head in the door of a couple establishments to check the Louisville/Michigan score, and watched the end of the Kentucky/Wichita State game looking in the door of the Roost which was packed with Gamecock and Dook fans....That morning we had brunch at a Bagel Steamer Restaurant, and I had my first Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a Blueberry steamed Bagel which was great....Being from the country, I've always been a Biscuit man myself, so it was a new experience for me....My wife had a Cinnamon Raisin Steamed Bagel with Cream Cheese....We walked down to the Reedy River to look at all the landscaping and shops, and the sidewalks were packed with Duke, Carolina and South Carolina fans with a few folks from Arkansas, and you could already feel the excitement starting to build for the NCAA Basketball games to come....About 3 p.m, we decided to head to Sticky Fingers BBQ to have some BBQ Ribs, and then headed up to the open area near the Roost to lounge around for about an hour before heading to the first game....
After heading to the Arena at about 5:30, we bought us a NCAA program, and a March Madness Tee Shirt before taking our seats for the game....The Coliseum was buzzing as the game began, and we were thoroughly enjoying the first half as the Tar Heels were in control early, but started getting anxious as the Hogs closed the gap at the half....As the 2nd half began, it just seemed that the Hogs were getting every bounce of the ball, and we couldn't do anything right as the lead evaporated to the delight of several Dook fans around us....As the game wound down, the smile and celebration on Dook fans' faces grew wider as we grew more nervous...With a little over 2 minutes left in the game, we were down by 3pts, and the Arkansas fans were feeling it, and the Dook fans were enjoying themselves with even the Dook pep band and Arkansas pep band having themselves a good ole time reveling in the expected demise of the the South's top seeded team...Right after a time out, Arkansas seemed to play not to lose as they used most of the shot clock with the shot clock expiring once on them, and Barford throwing up a desperate attempt from near midcourt on the next possession....The Tar Heels Berry was clearly fouled, but no call was made, and Meeks followed up with a big put back, and the Tar Heels took the lead....Hicks then made 4 Freethrows down the stretch, and my wife and I celebrated loudly to the displeasure of several fans around us: We ain't the "Wine and Cheese" type of Tar Heels fans that so many opponents like to poke fun at, and we let em' know who won the game....
As the Dook/South Carolina game began, some smug Dook fans around us were all laughing and having a good time when Dook jumped to an early lead, but they clearly looked a little worried when they were only up by 7pts at the half.....In the 2nd half, South Carolina seemingly couldn't miss, and the best part for me was when a South Carolina player made a shot which one official said didn't count....However, the other official on the other side of the court came over, and they changed the call to a made basket, and foul on Dook which enraged K-rat to my enjoyment, and I laughed out loud for about 2 minutes....Once South Carolina took control of the game, the Arena was electric with both Carolina fans cheering for the Cocks while cheering against the Dookies....First Matt Jones fouled out , then Kennard and finally Tatum, and the look on Dook fans' faces was truly priceless as many had their head in their hands, or over their mouths at the end of the game, and I loved it....
I turned to my wife before we left the Arena, and said, "Honey, days like today just don't get any better than this!"....
