Daily Drop: Where Are the Tar Heels on a Scale of 1-10?

[andrew jones]

TarHeelIllustrated - Daily Drop: Where Are the Tar Heels on a Scale of 1-10?

Four games into the season, and before Tez Walker was cleared to play, North Carolina linebacker Cedric Gray said the

northcarolina.rivals.com

 

[tarheel0910]

I'll go with a 7. I agree about stepping on people's necks. It feels like the coaches are just trying to run out the clock in the fourth quarter instead of adding points. Not sure this team could get higher than a nine. In order to do that, the OL would have to take a significant jump forward. I don't know if the talent is there for that. A nine would still be really good for this program. I feel like with our schedule, that would get us 10-11 wins, with a small chance of getting a NY6 invite.

 

[Archer2]

A question for Andrew. I thought I heard you say in a podcast that you didn’t pull for UNC, that you covered them. So I have to ask, are the Heels your team or do you just provide very good coverage as part of your job? If they aren’t your team, who is?

 

[andrew jones]

A question for Andrew. I thought I heard you say in a podcast that you didn’t pull for UNC, that you covered them. So I have to ask, are the Heels your team or do you just provide very good coverage as part of your job? If they aren’t your team, who is?

When I got into this business at the end of 1996, I was told some in the media were fans of teams they covered, but just didn't show it.

So, in the early spring of 1997, I covered 17 Baltimore Orioles games. One night, Mike Mussina had a perfect game with one out in the ninth inning against the Indians, who were awesome at the time. I was in the press box doing my ever-loving best to control my excitement.

I realized that night I could not cover baseball ever again becuase I couldn't do so rooting so passionately for a team. I have not done one MLB story since.

My point is, I could not properly cover UNC while also being a fan. I just don't think it would work journalistically and would not be fair to readers/listeners.

My dad lettered in soccer and lacrosse at UNC ('55) and was president of the monogram club. He's a diehard Tar Heel, and at 89 is as passionate as ever. Needless to say, he loves my job. My brother is an Indiana grad but bleeds Carolina blue.

I was raised in a UNC/ACC house, so I was once a huge fan. But I have zero emotional investment nowadays.

That said, UNC winning makes me happy for my family, for you guys, and it's good for THI business. But no, I don't root, feel no excitement when they win or sadness when they lose.

BTW, the only team in sports I root for are the Orioles. I do pull for the ACC in football and basketball, but I am emotionally invested in the Orioles. And yes, I will miss Game 1 on Saturday because I will be covering the Syracuse game.

 

[andrew jones]

A question for Andrew. I thought I heard you say in a podcast that you didn’t pull for UNC, that you covered them. So I have to ask, are the Heels your team or do you just provide very good coverage as part of your job? If they aren’t your team, who is?

And thank you for the compliment. That means a lot.