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‘It’s always a great day to be a Tar Heel’

More than 15,000 fans gathered in the Dean Smith Center on April 4 to watch the Carolina men’s basketball team finish an extraordinary season.

Two students hugging
When the Tar Heels narrowly lost 72-69, fans quietly began to gather their belongings with resignation, then paused to listen as James Taylor’s “Carolina in my Mind” played on the stadium’s speakers. (Photo by Sarah Wood/UNC-Chapel Hill)

In the hours leading up to the Tar Heels’ 12th appearance in the national championship game, fans gathered once more in the stands of the Dean Smith Center to watch Carolina play the University of Kansas.

UNC Athletics partnered with Food Lion and Student Affairs to host the watch party.

“This is the experience of a lifetime to watch Carolina play in the championship in the Dean Dome. It’s an insane feeling to have come so far this season,” said sophomore Judy Williams.

Among the more than 15,000 fans in attendance in the Smith Center was alumni Guy Strawder and his wife Joanne, who traveled from Fredericksburg, Virginia, for the chance to cheer on the Tar Heels in the Smith Center.

“There’s no other place in the world I’d rather be to see Carolina play for the championship,” said Strawder.

Lifelong fan Mike Bradley met with his best friend at the Smith Center so they could watch the Tar Heels together and see the culmination of an exceptional season.

“This is history. The way these guys have bonded mentally and physically,” said Bradley. “We were a bubble team two months ago. To be with the fans and the students, to be in the moment. This is history.”

Tess and Gary Howard are recent Carolina fans who relocated to North Carolina from New Hampshire and then sought medical care at UNC Hospitals for their daughter, Priscilla, who has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. They traveled to Chapel Hill last week for Priscilla’s most recent surgery, and on April 4, when she was discharged, they decided to come to the Smith Center as a family to cheer on their new favorite team.

“She’s had two major surgeries here, and ever since, we’ve been UNC fans,” said Tess Howard. “We’re here to stay.”

As the clock counted down and the game became increasingly close, the stadium became quiet as fans alternately covered their eyes, prayed and twisted their flags and signs. When the Tar Heels narrowly lost 72-69, fans quietly began to gather their belongings with resignation, then paused to listen as James Taylor’s “Carolina in my Mind” played on the stadium’s speakers.

Kendall Leigh, a first-year student who attended Hubert Davis’ first game as head coach on Nov. 9, 2021, and every Carolina home game this season, said on the concourse that the Smith Center was the place to be on April 4.

“I wanted to end the season where I started — in the Smith Center with other fans. Whether we win or lose, it’s always a great day to be a Tar Heel,” she said.