University of North Carolina Athletics
Matt Merletti (#25)
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Lucas: A Tradition That Unites Us
November 1, 2023 | Football, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
By Adam Lucas
Matt Merletti has plenty of great memories during his decorated football career, both as a Tar Heel and in the NFL. But as he thinks back on those moments, it's one in particular that still makes him smile.
"Sometimes," he says, "it's unintentionally starting a tradition that becomes one of the best moments."
That's what happened in July of 2008, when Merletti—then a Tar Heel defensive back—requested that his brother, Mike, do him a favor. At the time, Mike was an Army Ranger deployed in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. His operational area was in Baghdad Province, a region known as the Sunni Triangle of Death.
Matt's request was simple: he wanted Mike to fly a flag over the base in Iraq and then bring the flag to Chapel Hill when he returned home. On Sept. 11, 2008—seven years to the day after the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.—the flag flew for the first time over Combat Outpost Dragon. That same night, Carolina won, 44-12, at Rutgers. Matt Merletti had five tackles; when the Tar Heel football team took off from the airport after the game, they could see the two beams of light commemorating the World Trade Center shining in the distance.
Mike carried the flag with him throughout his missions the next few weeks, tucking it inside his body armor. He returned to the United States two months later; the first time the brothers saw each other was the night before Carolina played NC State. As promised, Mike presented Matt with the flag that had joined him throughout his deployment.
The next day, for the first time, that same flag accompanied the Tar Heels out of the tunnel before they took on the Wolfpack. It was carried, of course, by Matt Merletti—who had heard the flag's background and immediately granted permission for the new addition.
When Merletti injured his knee before the 2009 season, he selected a player to carry the flag before each game. "By the middle of the season," he said, "I was started to get guys lobbying to be the one to carry it. I always made sure to tell them the story about what the flag meant. And I gave them all the details—I wanted them to understand that this flag is longer than you think, and it can't touch the ground."
Mike was deployed again after the 2009 season, and took the flag with him on multiple missions in Eastern Afghanistan. He returned just before the start of the 2010 season. When he returned the flag to Matt, and gave him one simple instruction: "Continue to honor the men who served with me and the men who continue to serve this flag."
When Matt graduated in 2011, he gifted it back to the program. Subsequent head coaches Larry Fedora and Mack Brown have learned the history behind the flag and have reached out to Merletti to ask if they can continue the tradition.
He has, of course, obliged, and this weekend's Military Appreciation game against Campbell will mark the 15th anniversary of a Tar Heel running out of the tunnel carrying the Stars and Stripes. It's the type of gesture that can go unnoticed on a gameday filled with pageantry—unless you know the history.
It's remained an important honor among Tar Heels. At the last home game, for example, student manager Camden Bailey—a cancer survivor—was chosen to lead the team while carrying the flag. For Bailey, the significance was multiplied by his family's history. "That feeling of standing at the entrance to the tunnel is a feeling I will never forget," he says. "From the students banging on the roof above to the blue smoke forming around you, it is an experience that gave me chills. Being the first one on the field was an honor because not only was I carrying the flag of our fantastic country, but I was also representing the rest of the Carolina team and what the team supports. The majority of my grandparents and many of my other family members have served overseas to protect our country, so not only was I showing respect to all veterans and current members of the military, but also to my family members. The history of the flag and its current tradition symbolizes what being a Tar Heel is about."
Merletti and his family frequently attend games and will be there on Saturday for the matchup with Campbell. He knows not everyone is aware exactly why the Tar Heels run out of the tunnel carrying an American flag. But he also knows that while the exact details are poignant, they're part of a larger message that he hopes the Kenan crowd remembers.
"To me, it's a reminder that the flag is what unites us," he says. "I grew up taking pride in the flag and believing in it and getting goosebumps when the anthem comes on at sporting events. Everyone who is old enough can remember when 9/11 happened. Our country has never been more united than in those days. I hope that flag ties us back to that kind of feeling. We take for granted how good we have it here. And to keep that tradition going, putting aside my personal connection, is a moment of reflection and pride. No matter which team we're pulling for, we're all Americans at the end of the day."
Matt Merletti has plenty of great memories during his decorated football career, both as a Tar Heel and in the NFL. But as he thinks back on those moments, it's one in particular that still makes him smile.
"Sometimes," he says, "it's unintentionally starting a tradition that becomes one of the best moments."
That's what happened in July of 2008, when Merletti—then a Tar Heel defensive back—requested that his brother, Mike, do him a favor. At the time, Mike was an Army Ranger deployed in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. His operational area was in Baghdad Province, a region known as the Sunni Triangle of Death.
Matt's request was simple: he wanted Mike to fly a flag over the base in Iraq and then bring the flag to Chapel Hill when he returned home. On Sept. 11, 2008—seven years to the day after the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.—the flag flew for the first time over Combat Outpost Dragon. That same night, Carolina won, 44-12, at Rutgers. Matt Merletti had five tackles; when the Tar Heel football team took off from the airport after the game, they could see the two beams of light commemorating the World Trade Center shining in the distance.
Mike carried the flag with him throughout his missions the next few weeks, tucking it inside his body armor. He returned to the United States two months later; the first time the brothers saw each other was the night before Carolina played NC State. As promised, Mike presented Matt with the flag that had joined him throughout his deployment.
The next day, for the first time, that same flag accompanied the Tar Heels out of the tunnel before they took on the Wolfpack. It was carried, of course, by Matt Merletti—who had heard the flag's background and immediately granted permission for the new addition.
When Merletti injured his knee before the 2009 season, he selected a player to carry the flag before each game. "By the middle of the season," he said, "I was started to get guys lobbying to be the one to carry it. I always made sure to tell them the story about what the flag meant. And I gave them all the details—I wanted them to understand that this flag is longer than you think, and it can't touch the ground."
Mike was deployed again after the 2009 season, and took the flag with him on multiple missions in Eastern Afghanistan. He returned just before the start of the 2010 season. When he returned the flag to Matt, and gave him one simple instruction: "Continue to honor the men who served with me and the men who continue to serve this flag."
When Matt graduated in 2011, he gifted it back to the program. Subsequent head coaches Larry Fedora and Mack Brown have learned the history behind the flag and have reached out to Merletti to ask if they can continue the tradition.
He has, of course, obliged, and this weekend's Military Appreciation game against Campbell will mark the 15th anniversary of a Tar Heel running out of the tunnel carrying the Stars and Stripes. It's the type of gesture that can go unnoticed on a gameday filled with pageantry—unless you know the history.
It's remained an important honor among Tar Heels. At the last home game, for example, student manager Camden Bailey—a cancer survivor—was chosen to lead the team while carrying the flag. For Bailey, the significance was multiplied by his family's history. "That feeling of standing at the entrance to the tunnel is a feeling I will never forget," he says. "From the students banging on the roof above to the blue smoke forming around you, it is an experience that gave me chills. Being the first one on the field was an honor because not only was I carrying the flag of our fantastic country, but I was also representing the rest of the Carolina team and what the team supports. The majority of my grandparents and many of my other family members have served overseas to protect our country, so not only was I showing respect to all veterans and current members of the military, but also to my family members. The history of the flag and its current tradition symbolizes what being a Tar Heel is about."
Merletti and his family frequently attend games and will be there on Saturday for the matchup with Campbell. He knows not everyone is aware exactly why the Tar Heels run out of the tunnel carrying an American flag. But he also knows that while the exact details are poignant, they're part of a larger message that he hopes the Kenan crowd remembers.
"To me, it's a reminder that the flag is what unites us," he says. "I grew up taking pride in the flag and believing in it and getting goosebumps when the anthem comes on at sporting events. Everyone who is old enough can remember when 9/11 happened. Our country has never been more united than in those days. I hope that flag ties us back to that kind of feeling. We take for granted how good we have it here. And to keep that tradition going, putting aside my personal connection, is a moment of reflection and pride. No matter which team we're pulling for, we're all Americans at the end of the day."
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