To hate like this is to be happy forever
I can’t get over last night. March 4, 2017. UNC v. Duke, the best rivalry in sports. My last game as a student in the Dean Dome, the place I’ve spent countless evenings cheering along my favorite team. The best night of my life.
I don’t think I will ever be able to put into words the emotions I felt in that sacred place last night. To wake up at 6:30 in the morning after 4 hours of sleep, wait all day playing cards and eating snacks, made me exponentially more excited with every passing minute. To be in the 4th row behind the basket, with some of my best friends, screaming at the top of my lungs at Roy, Joel, the refs, that other team, even being on TV, was something I won’t ever forget. To be in the stands as Michael Jordan came home to his alma mater, told us that the ceiling is the roof, and threw a shirt right into my hands was enough to make me yell so loud that I don’t have a voice today. To stand there, hugging my friends, tears streaming down my cheeks, as Kennedy and Nate made speeches on behalf of the senior class for senior night, made me overwhelmed with pride for my school and love for this place that I call home.
And it didn’t end there. To find my best friend in the stands and run all the way to Franklin Street together, bobbing and weaving the 1.3 miles to join 10,000 of my closest friends in celebration, made me feel lucky to be a part of something so much greater than just the game of basketball. And finally, to stand on the balcony at He’s Not, a place that has been host to so many memories over the last few years, drinking my blue cup and wishing the night would never end, was the icing on the cake for what was, without a doubt, the best night of my life.
Bill Currie said it best, that “nobody ever gets over being a Tar Heel.” I will never get over being at Carolina. When I count my blessings, I count UNC twice. 4 years ago, I could never have imagined the bond I would feel to this place, and now that those 4 years are nearly up, I can’t imagine leaving. Thank you, UNC basketball, for being one of the best parts of those 4 years. I will never get over last night.
I documented my 18-hour day on my snapchat story, to be able to post here, for my mom to watch, but mostly for myself to have the memories to watch back over again and again. So, here it is!
