Hark the Sound

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What an incredible weekend to be a Tar Heel! Chapel Hill was simply ELECTRIC this weekend. In the aftermath of the better blue winning, the Carolina spirit was evident. Yes, this is about basketball but I think I need to put it into context how much the students at UNC care about basketball. My roommate is from Australia and isn’t invested in American basketball at all but on Friday she got on a bus from North Carolina that drove through the night straight to the game. Students camped out of a hot dog restaurant starting at 2 a.m. just to get good seats to watch the game. My house held a watch party with a projector set up outside and alumni in our neighborhood came to watch with us because they wanted to be with students, telling us that they would be right there with us sprinting to Franklin Street.

The Duke rivalry is interesting, two schools are incredibly close filled with friends, classmates, ex-boyfriends, and co-workers. Duke and UNC students are no strangers to one another meaning the rivalry is not just one on television, it is personal and therefore there is so much to lose.

Earlier this week my father called me and told me that it was an incredible time to be a student and to take it all in because for the rest of my life I might be able to say, “I was at Carolina for Coach K’s last game.” Well, I can officially say it now! Hopefully, I will be able to say I was here for a national championship (knock on wood).

Seeing students and residents rush into one place on Saturday night was the ultimate evidence of how adored the University of North Carolina is. I had a professor earlier in the year ask my class why everyone was so invested in basketball and so dedicated to cheering on the Tar Heels, he simply didn’t understand the madness that is March. The feeling of getting to experience rushing Franklin Street with your best friends, thousands coming together to celebrate one moment is the reason, there is simply nothing like the tradition of rushing Franklin Street. Being a part of that moment was the highlight of my senior year.

When Duke beat UNC in the Dean Dome this year, I left crying for fear that I would never get to experience rushing Franklin again. The last time was my freshman year. This basketball season has gone better than I ever could have hoped for and hopefully come tonight I will be lifting my friends on my shoulders screaming Hark the Sound. GO HEELS!

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Hark the Sound