TAR HEEL FEVER

Posted by Alex  

The first thing that you will notice when you arrive in Chapel Hill is the omnipresence of the light blue color everywhere in town. This is not your basic blue, it is the UNC blue, it is more than just a baby blue color, it is the Tar Heel standard. Welcome to Tar Heel territory!

North Carolina is known as the Tar Heel State but the Tar Heel moniker takes its full meaning in Chapel Hill. The inhabitants, the students and especially the UNC sports teams are the Tar Heels.

As an International student, I did not grasp the full extent of what it means to be part of the Tar Heel community until I went to my first UNC football game last summer. It really hit me then, seeing everyone wearing the Tar Heel blue: I mean, not just a few sections, the whole stadium was Tar Heel blue. The chants and other UNC slogans finally pushed me over the edge: I had become a Tar Heel too.

It is no secret that Football is not UNC’s greatest athletic strength in comparison to Soccer and Lacrosse, for example. But, what really defines UNC sports is Men’s (and Women’s) Basketball. Usually, the Tar Heel passion is all year round but the real Tar Heel Fever happens about two to three times per year: the 1^st home game of the Men’s Basketball team at the Dean Dome (which is conveniently located next to the Kenan-Flagler Business School), their last home game of the regular season (also known as Senior Night because it is their last game at the Dome) and, last but certainly not least, March Madness. March Madness is Tar Heel Fever! Every game is an opportunity to wear our color proudly and get together to cheer for our favorite team in blue.

You can imagine how ecstatic the whole town is as I write this post. The Tar Heels are going to San Antonio for the Final Four. Watch out, Kansas, here comes the Blue Hurricane!