Come On Tar Heel Fans, Act Like You've Been There Before

Tyler Hansbrough saw a routine fourth victory at Duke for the Heels Wednesday.

By: Fred Cunningham | News Channel 7
Published: February 12, 2009 | 0 Comments | Post a Comment

I know that Duke is North Carolina's most despised rival and a Blue Devil fan would cheer for the Russians (a 1980's reference here) if they were playing the Tar Heels.

So any basketball win when North Carolina and Duke go at it is big. It's college basketball's - heck, there isn't anything else close in the pros - best rivalry.

However, how in the world do UNC fans explain rushing Franklin Street after Wednesday's 101-87 victory over the Dookies and act like man just landed on the moon? Setting bonfires and leaping over the flames to celebrate your fifth win in the last six meetings in the series?

North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough probably wasn't too impressed, even after a 14-0 second half run turned the game around. Hansbrough wound up winning all four games he played in Cameron Indoor Stadium?

Bonfires? An estimated 5,000 fans in the streets of Chapel Hill?

WRAL-TV reported the following, which makes me even more amazed since police actually anticipated this kind of reaction.

To help control celebrations, the Chapel Hill Fire Department set up a staging area near Franklin Street in case students decided to light fires in celebration, as they have in the past.

The fire department set up a special area for fans to light celebration fires after North Carolina beats a team that Clemson rolled by 27 points one week earlier?

North Carolina fans; you are better than this. You are so much better.

To see this kind of reaction to a regular season victory over Duke - a team you'll face in the Smith Center next month, probably again in the ACC Tournament and just maybe in the NCAAs for a fourth time - makes me think a little insanity leaked out early from March Madness.