University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Supporting Tar Heels
February 10, 2014 | Men's Basketball
By Turner Walston
One of the beautiful things about Carolina athletics is the support that Tar Heel student-athletes and coaches get from one another. Look in the crowd at any athletic event and you're sure to find representatives from other teams supporting their fellow Tar Heels. You may have spotted pitcher Jack Geraghty and shortstop Michael Russell in the risers for the men's basketball game against Miami, or seen Eric Ebron at a women's basketball game. A day after Jenny Levy's women's lacrosse team captured the 2013 NCAA title, they arrived at Boshamer Stadium to a standing ovation from Diamond Heels season ticket holders. Mike Fox was at the NCAA men's basketball title game in 2009, and Roy Williams has been spotted in the crowd in Omaha at the College World Series. The Tar Heel volleyball and softball teams are big supporters of one another.
Even if they can't be at the games, Tar Heels keep tabs on one another. When weather in Atlanta two weeks ago disrupted the ESPN2 broadcast of Carolina men's basketball at Georgia Tech, softball coach Donna Papa frantically texted communications assistant Abbey Temple for updates.
“I'm a Tar Heel who definitely supports other Tar Heels,” junior pitcher Benton Moss said. Moss reeled off an impressive list of the sports he's attended. “I haven't been to a men's lacrosse game, just because they're in season at the same time as us,” he said. And Moss said he's seen fellow student-athletes in the Bosh Pit as well. “Some of my core groups of friends are from other teams, and I hear them in the crowd when I'm pitching. At times when there are silences and they shout out, I can hear them and recognize their voices instantly. It's definitely reciprocal.”
Russell became a volleyball fan at Hopewell High School in Huntersville and has continued that fandom in Chapel Hill, in addition to the many other events he's attended. “I've probably seen at least a game of about everything,” he said. “I've seen field hockey. I've been to a ton of soccer games, both men's and women's. That's probably what I've been to most, soccer and football.”
Freshman tennis player Jack Murray took in as many fall sports as he could, balancing studies with tennis practice and student life. “I really want to go to a basketball game,” he said. “Unfortunately, they've been coinciding with our practices. I went to a bunch of football games, volleyball and soccer, so I'm trying to support everyone else.”
Fellow newcomer (and doubles partner) Ronnie Schneider is a Bloomington, Indiana native. He grew up in the shadow of IU, but he's a Tar Heel. “I grew up an Indiana basketball fan and I matriculated into North Carolina basketball,” he said. “It's a lot of fun. I'm so much on board.”
And though their games are the toughest tickets on campus, men's basketball players don't just confine themselves to the Smith Center. “I've been to all the football games, been to women's basketball . . .” sophomore forward Brice Johnson said. “I need to go to tennis now. I want to go to a tennis match. I try to see whatever I can. I've got to go to a track meet, because they were talking about wanting me to come out there (Johnson was two-time state high jump champion at Edisto High School). I'm a sports fanatic.”
Freshman Kennedy Meeks enjoys football games and said he's a Tar Heel fan to the heart. “I'll definitely check out baseball, because most of my friends play baseball,” he said.
Wednesday night, the eyes of college basketball and Tar Heel student-athletes alike will be focused on the Smith Center when the Duke Blue Devils visit Chapel Hill. The only other athletic event scheduled for that day is a softball trip to Elon for a 4 p.m. first pitch. The Circle Heels hope to make it back in time for the game, but if not, they'll watch it as a team.
Many student-athletes were hoping for tickets through Monday's student-athlete ticket lottery. “I'm a junior. I'm really hoping,” Russell said. “I went to it my senior year of high school and it was fantastic. Freshman year, that's one of those things that you'll never forget where you were when Rivers hit that shot. We were all in the dorm together, watching the game. I don't think anyone talked for like ten minutes.”
“To be determined,” Moss said of his ticket plans. “I'm working on some tickets. If I can be there, you better believe I'll be there. If not, I'm going to find a big screen and a bunch of my friends who are in the same boat as me, and we're going to probably scream for two hours.”
As freshmen, Murray and Schneider don't have terrific odds in the ticket lottery. “If I'm not in tutoring, I will definitely be watching it,” Murray said. “Hopefully I will be there.”
Schneider was thinking craftily. “I've heard in the past they'll take people along on [recruiting] visits,” he said. “Maybe I can hop along with one of those if I'm lucky.”
But whether they're at the game or watching on television, Tar Heel student-athletes will be supporting Tar Heel student-athletes, just as they always have. “You can't not fall in love with our sports teams,” Russell said. “They're all competitive and I think as an athlete you really appreciate being a Tar Heel, and you appreciate all the hard work everyone puts in. You look at those guys, you know they're working just as hard as you. It's fun to watch everyone else.”
