UNC v. Duke

UNC vs. Duke

March 8th 2009

The biggest rivalry in sports (in my opinion!!)

I'm not sure I'm allowed to be jealous of my 11 month old son...but I am. For most of my life, I dreamed of the day I could see UNC play Duke in person. I can vividly remember sitting on the floor in front of the TV growing up cheering as hard as I could for the Heels and, at an early age, hating the Devils and Coach K. Finally, my freshman year in college I made it to my first UNC vs. Duke game in the Dean Dome. For me, it was like a kid at Christmas. I assumed I would have only 4 years of the excitement of seeing the game in person. Fate would prove differently. After meeting Chad, I realized I had found someone who truly lived and breathed Carolina Basketball. He's part of the family. Luckily, we are fortunate enough to have season tickets (or I am fortunate that Chad allows me to use one of his two tickets). Hopefully, I will never have to miss a UNC vs. Duke match up again. We even take off work for the event! So, the fact that the little guy gets to see the biggest game in Basketball in person before his 1st birthday makes me just a bit jealous. I hope we can get 3 seats in the future...otherwise Payton will have to stay home (or sit with Uncle Kade)...Mommy isn't giving her seat up easily!

It was a beautiful day in Chapel Hill and as usual there was plenty of excitement surrounding the game. Chandra and Allen had tickets to the game as well. We were so happy to see them before the game. We hate Calyn and Carson missed the big event. Payton really missed seeing them!! Maybe there will be a time when we can all see the game in person...or maybe Calyn and Carson can watch Payton while we go to the game!

As usual, the Duke game is the last game of the regular season. The last game always brings a special ceremony for all senior players. Normally, all seniors start. This year, there were more than 5 so Roy sent them all onto the court prior to the real tip-off.

Payton loves all the noise and excitement in the Dean Dome. He automatically claps as the band plays or while other fans cheer. He had to take a short nap during the first half and into half-time. He was ready to go for the second half.

Although I cherish each moment with Payton and I do not want to rush him growing up, I do wish he could remember his trip to the Dean Dome on March 8th 2009. As a grown woman, I was in awe for several different reasons. Payton was 1 of over 21,000; however, those 21,000 other people contained some pretty famous former and current players. How amazing to be surround by Michael Jordan, Larry Brown, Raymond Felton, Sean May. How impressive to see Tyler Hansbrough in his last game in the Dean Smith Center surrounded by Coach Roy Williams, Bobby Frasor, Danny Green, and Ty Lawson, the ACC Player of the Year. Although we may not be fans, you must admit it is also nice to see Gerald Henderson and Coach K doing what they do best. This game and this event, with so many big names in attendance, may be a highlight of Payton's life....if only he could remember! Hopefully he'll be impressed when we tell him about it in 10 years. I imagine he may say "Michael who?"

Yes, Michael Jordan....and no, I wasn't this close....this is thanks to my Nikon D40X - its that good! We're 50 rows up and across the court, at an angle. Either way, we were in the same building and I am still in awe!

Goodbye Tyler! Thanks for 4 great years! As Tyler, Bobby, Danny and the other players gave their senior speeches I felt like I was a family member...or at least I teared up like one! It has really been an honor to watch such a wonderful class of players. We hope we see them in 9 more games! My Nikon would love to travel to Detroit and snap a few more pictures!

After the game, we skipped the Franklin Street celebration for a more subdued atmosphere at The Loop. It was a great way to end an amazing day!

Congrats Payton - you are officially 2-0 against Duke. We hope you enjoyed your first live match-up and we hope to take you to many more games in the future...hopefully 2 more this year. GO HEELS! Detroit here we come!