School Pride

Happy Tuesday!  In case you didn't read my post on Thursday, this past weekend I took a trip to Chapel Hill to see my little brother's lacrosse game and celebrate my dad's birthday.  It was tons of fun...minus the small car that 4 of us had to fit into.  We went straight to Duncan's game and it was great to see him and his teammates play together so fluidly.  I have to say my favorite part of the game was watching the team sign autographs...I wanted to bring a banana peel and ask him to sign that :)

How's your signature Dunc?

Anyway, the part of the day that I wanted to write about was the Duke vs. Carolina game.  My dad and a good family friend had rented out the back of a bar for their birthdays so we went there to watch the game.  The whole day you could feel the spirit building around campus, everyone seemed pretty psyched for the night ahead.  This was all very different from my college experience, while I wouldn't trade it for the world, we did not have any big huge sports games where you got decked out and went to a bar to watch the game on TV.  

As the game continued on and Carolina continued to lead the noise in the bar grew louder and louder.  Everyone began to watch closely in the final minutes to see what the outcome would be.  The next thing you knew everyone was screaming and hugging and my dad was egging everyone to go out to Franklin Street.  We walked outside and you could feel the spirit in the air.  People were screaming and cheering with strangers.  The streets were closed down.  Everyone was headed in the same direction, to join the crowd and celebrate the victory with their fellow students.  

We got to the part of Franklin Street where people were gathered and people were EVERYWHERE!  Here are a few pics so you can get a better feel:

the masses

Tighe and I taking it all in

Jumping over the fire

To say the least, it was rowdy.  But it was one of those moments you wouldn't want to miss.  To see a community come together with a shared sense of pride, you can't help but smile.  Everyone is happy, the energy and enthusiasm are palpable, and you know that you are witnessing something special.  It was so much fun to experience the true Carolina spirit (even if I didn't go there) and pretend like I was in college again for a little while :)

Plus it was a great way to end a great Birthday for my dear old dad...happy 54th!