Meet the Heels 2008

Aug 20th 2008 - Written by: John Webb

This past Sunday I rolled in from Meet the Heels 2008, North Carolina’s version of Fan Appreciation Day. Let me preface this by saying that I really enjoyed spending the evening with “Scotland” and his family, and I think that he and his fellow players who I met are classy representatives of the Tar Heels. Scotland, I am pulling for you to win that position battle and become the starter this year. Thanks for the hospitality you showed to this Clemson fan. Franklin Street was great, and it’s really not fair that a bunch of college guys have nicer hardwood floors in their house than I do.

I want to share a few thoughts about North Carolina football. I have heard for many years about the surpassing grandeur of Kenan Stadium and the glory of football in Chapel Hill. Here is a recent comment from ESPN’s Heather Dinich where she ranked the toughest venues in the ACC, and Kenan Stadium came in fourth:

4. UNC, Kenan Stadium (60,000)-- This place is just the right size, and the picturesque pine trees make this one of the nicest venues in the league. Butch Davis has an amazing view of all of it from his office.

If we break it down, her argument for Kenan being a tough venue is threefold:

1. a baby bear stadium is most intimidating (not too big, not too little…just right)
2. pine trees (now I’m scared to go hiking)
3. view from coach’s office (I think the view is only intimidating if there were a pine beetle epidemic)

Here are some other intimidating things about Kenan that I noticed. The architect who designed the club level seating at Kenan Stadium must be the same guy who designed the entrance to EPCOT. I could not find, however, a monorail in Chapel Hill.

Beyond one end zone sits what I think is the visitors’ locker room – apparently a Spanish style house transported through some vortex in space from Riverside, CA. It has some missing roof tiles and a big television antenna on top (I’m not making that part up.) I guess I missed the window unit air conditioner. Perhaps they went with a tile roof because of the forest fire risk from the pine trees.

The sight lines are such that the game is rendered unwatchable from around 25,000 of the seats. But focus on the positive. That means over 50% are good seats, and you don’t even need 50% to get elected president. Bill Clinton did it twice.

Some of the bathrooms are free-standing from the stadium, theoretically making you hold it longer and yell louder, I suppose.

Speaking of yelling louder, the good folks – that vicious lady who cut us in line notwithstanding – who are fans of the Tar Heels have a reputation for being a wine and cheese crowd. This was not true Saturday, because there was no alcohol allowed in the stadium. There was a fraction of the crowd present that Clemson usually gets for its fan day. The throng (such as it was) gathered on the field, and the announcer asked, “Who’s ready for some Carolina football?” The crowd’s reply had all the passion of a limp handshake.

The organizers allowed an hour and 45 minutes to have kids play on all the inflatable slides and obstacle courses set up on the field. My kids had fun. Finally introductions of the players were made and a scant 45 minutes were allowed for everyone to get autographs. The crowd had pretty well thinned out by the end of the allotted time. Each player got polite applause aside from Marvin Austin, who got a legitimate cheer.

I looked into the eyes of these fans, and I knew that they aren’t salivating for August 30; they are hankering for Roy Williams’ crew to take the court. This whole football program is ultimately an exercise in killing time until basketball season starts up. I even heard some of them talking basketball at Meet the Heels. It was sad. Granted, they will probably kick us in the teeth in January and February.

Then I thought about all the water under the bridge since 1991. I thought about watching the credits roll on ESPN in 1998 with a background of Tommy West cursing out some players for not closing out the game on that very field. I thought about going with friends in 1996 to find a bar showing the game, only to see us lose in Chapel Hill by 45. I thought about having to go into the office Saturday morning for a while, and missing part of the first quarter, but wishing I had missed more, as Julius Peppers beat us almost by himself in 2001.

How can such a tepid, lukewarm fan base claim such a pedigree? Was it a mistake of history? Maybe no, but there has hardly been a less appreciative lot. I look around their stadium and I see names like Choo Choo Charlie, Lawrence Taylor, Dre Bly, and Julius Peppers. Do the Tar Heels treasure greatness when it comes and plops down on their front porch for four years? I’m willing to bet that those Heels fans remember Peppers, because he was one heck of a power forward.

I know why the Gamecocks leave at halftime. It’s not because they don’t care; it’s because they care, and they hurt, and they spew their anger into humid sand hill nights. The Gamecocks are still the Shamecocks, but I know that a Gamecock would give his right arm to win the SEC. I may choke on these words, but what we see in Columbia is a kindred spirit. Where can you find that in the ACC?

It was not until visiting UNC, as well as making some other road trips, that I came to realize how special Clemson is. There is no other school in the ACC (Virginia Tech comes close) that can match our passion, tradition, and game day experience. Duke band members have marched at half time wearing backpacks so they could study during the game. Georgia Tech plays trivia contests on their video screen during timeouts. Excuse me. At that venerable institution, it’s probably times-out. If you need me I will be at the concession stand at Bobby Dodd Stadium buying you and me some Sevens-Up.

Clemson fans line up hours early for Fan Appreciation Day, and none of our kids need Frank Howard Field to masquerade as a child’s birthday party in order to generate interest. Clemson fans are there to see the Greek gods of the gridiron.

UNC is a good school. My brother “Hollywood” even got his MBA there after graduating from Clemson. But Hollywood still bleeds orange, and being a good school is not a raison d’être for a championship football program. Great players deserve more than indifference.

What am I trying to say? Tommy, keep pushing the program where you want it to go. Team, keep your shoulder to the plough. Here is our implicit contract: Clemson fans will sell out in supporting you, and you will sell out in beating the fool out of our opponents. I’ve been to Kenan Stadium and I’ve met the Heels. With a little good fortune and the mettle of Clemson 10 UNC 8, maybe the rest of TigerNation will get a chance to meet them as well – in Tampa Bay.

If you would like to comment on this column then you can email John Webb at sectionHrowJ@gmail.com.