University of North Carolina Athletics
Jacobs: Tradition Of Games On Super Bowl Sunday Nothing New
February 3, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2011
by Barry Jacobs, TarHeelBlue.com
When Florida State visits Chapel Hill on Sunday, a longstanding ACC tradition will be renewed. And, the result of the men's basketball game may just presage the outcome of the most-watched and most-hyped sporting event of the year.
Starting in 1973, and continuing uninterrupted every season since 1993, ACC men's basketball has been a fixture as prelude to the Super Bowl, as much a part of the mix as speculating prognosticators, inane interviews, and high-priced, high-impact commercials.
The first ACC contestants on pro football's biggest day were second-ranked Maryland and No. 3 NC State, en route to an undefeated '73 season. The game proved exciting and well played, with the Wolfpack winning on a follow shot at the buzzer by 6-4 sophomore David "Skywalker" Thompson.
Not only was the superlative Thompson discovered that day by a national TV audience, but in those pre-cable days the caliber of ACC basketball was also prominently on display.
Given that head start, NC State has appeared on Super Bowl Sunday 15 times, more than any other ACC program. But the Tar Heels are closing in, playing their 14th Super Bowl prelim this Sunday. The Heels have done well in such circumstances, winning eight times, most recently in overtime in 2008 at - drum roll, please - Florida State.
The '08 game will be remembered for 22 points and 21 rebounds from that season's ACC player of the year, Tyler Hansbrough; a late, game-tying FSU 3-pointer to force overtime, the first long-range attempt of forward Ryan Reid's career; and an injury that sidelined Ty Lawson for all but four minutes of the first half.
The UNC playmaker scored the team's first two baskets, but went down when, according to the following season's Tar Heel media guide, he "became entangled with a defender after driving into the lane and was wrestled to the ground, twisting his ankle in the process." The perhaps-overaggressive defender was the physical, 6-8 Reid, the result a sprained left ankle that sidelined the 5-11 Lawson for six subsequent games.
The teams had also faced off in the run-up to the 2005 Super Bowl, with the Heels again emerging victorious.
Here's where North Carolina's Super Sunday record, and this year's matchup in particular, become perhaps more than a statistical quirk, a matter of passing interest.
Carolina victories tend to usher in good news for the NFC. Five times after Carolina won, the NFC representative likewise won the Super Bowl. Notable this year, that included Green Bay's defeat of New England in 1997.
Most recently, the Heels' overtime triumph at Tallahassee was followed by the New York Giants' upset of AFC champ New England.
When FSU loses prior to a Super Bowl, as happened four times to date, it's also usually good news for the NFC contestant. Teams from that conference went on to victory in 1995 (San Francisco), 2003 (Tampa Bay), and the Giants in 2008 following Florida State basketball defeats.
Meanwhile, fans of North Carolina and the AFC North's Pittsburgh Steelers -- which boasts 10 former ACC players including ex-Heel Greg Warren -- may be rooting at cross purposes. The two times UNC played prior to a Super Bowl involving Pittsburgh, the Tar Heels lost and the Steelers won.
What's more, two of Florida State's three victories as Super Bowl hors d'oeuvres were followed by AFC titles.
Oddly, given its basketball heritage, FSU has become a near-fixture as an ACC competitor on Super Bowl Sunday. Since Leonard Hamilton's arrival as head coach at Tallahassee in 2003, no league program has appeared more often in pre-Super Bowl competition than Florida State.
This is the fifth time in nine seasons a Hamilton club played on Super Sunday. Such programming may be mere coincidence, although it's possible it reflects a subliminal linkage between Florida State and football. Go figure.
Since 2003 traditional basketball stalwarts UNC and NC State are tied for second with four pre-Super Bowl appearances, twice as many as Duke, presumably another big attraction.
None of the ACC's most recent expansion members have joined the big-game festivities since the league grew to a dozen teams in the mid-2000s. Neither Clemson nor Georgia Tech has gotten a nod in the new century.
So, to recap, based on what happens on Sunday at Chapel Hill, the prospects could be bright for a Green Bay victory.
UNC wins prior to the Super Bowl tend to presage championships by NFC teams. The 2011 Tar Heels are undefeated at home.
Florida State losses are also likely to precede NFC triumphs, based on nearly two decades of experience. And FSU is good but not exceptional away from home, with one ACC road win in three tries so far this season.
There is another factor at work that is less a part of the historical record than a reality of the 2011 season. The Heels are the ACC's hottest team, with nine wins in their last 10 outings.
"Carolina, they may be playing the best in the league," said Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg. The veteran coach ought to know; his Hokies have won five of their last six and 11 of their last 13 after Wednesday's victory at NC State.
Both of Virginia Tech's losses since Dec. 12 came on the road in ACC play, including a 64-61 defeat by the Tar Heels at the Smith Center. "Winning on the road in our league is very hard," Greenberg said.
