In Chapel Hill, fans’ jubilation quickly turns to heartbreak as victory escapes UNC
It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
After an unexpected run through March Madness, including an epic defeat of rival Duke in the Final Four, UNC fans were ready to swarm Franklin Street one more time Monday night.
At least 35,000 people had rushed Franklin Street Saturday night to revel in a victory over Duke, and fans wanted to celebrate first-year coach Hubert Davis and the team that went from being on the bubble to being one of the last two teams standing in the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Tournament.
“It’s very rewarding. The last three years have not been that great,” said senior Jabria Ingram from He’s Not Here before the game. “It’s a great graduation gift to be able to actually be in a bar and rush Franklin.”
But that celebration didn’t transpire after the Tar Heels saw their double-digit halftime lead over the Kansas Jayhawks get whittled down to a 72-69 loss. The jubilant feeling from the first half — that emotion of “we might really do this!” — quickly turned into somber faces and tears.
”I got so excited,” UNC freshman Sarah McIlroy said afterward, unable to contain her crying while friends comforted her at a massive watch party at the Dean E. Smith Center. “I can’t believe this happened.”
But she’s confident coach Hubert Davis can rally his team for a vengeance tour.
”We’ll be back,” she said. “I’ve got another three years. It’ll happen.”
A jolt for business
Monday, fans descended upon Chapel Hill for the Tar Heels’ second big game in three days in bars, restaurants and the Dean E. Smith Center on campus. From He’s Not Here to Top of the Hill to Sup Dogs, business owners appreciated the jolt in business after a few tough pandemic years. Tickets for watch parties sold briskly.
A group of seniors who spent Saturday at Top of the Hill were able to sit at the same table, close to the TV screen, where they watched the UNC-Duke game. They rushed the street the moment the buzzer sounded and wanted one more rush before their undergraduate experience came to an end.
“The last game felt way more intense,” Nina Dakoriya, a business and political science major, said on Monday night. “But we loved the experience last time so much that we all got out our laptops as soon as reservations opened, and thankfully we got the same table.”
“A lot of our professors are letting us skip class and canceling homework assignments if we win tonight,” Willie Yang, a business major, said.
Might As Well, a huge bar on West Franklin Street, sold tickets for $30 each. Their capacity is 350 people.
“It’s great seeing people out and excited about something,” owner Liam Jones said.
He’s Not Here set up a projector for the game and sold 500 tickets for $25 each, selling out online in a few short minutes.
Sara Walker, a UNC graduate, and her friends sipped beer from the trademark He’s Not Here blue cups as the place filled with Carolina blue-clad fans.
“It’s all gravy at this point,” Walker said. “They weren’t supposed to be here. This team has accomplished so much.”
They watched the UNC-Duke game together in Raleigh on Saturday night and found tickets for Monday’s game in the Superdome in New Orleans but couldn’t find a flight for less than $2,500. So they got a hotel within walking distance of Franklin Street instead.
“We wanted to come back to Chapel Hill to celebrate because if we won, we wanted to rush Franklin Street,” Taylor Rankin said.
“There’s no bad place to watch on Franklin,” Katherine Rankin said. “And it’s a unique experience every time you rush Franklin. Uniquely terrifying.”
Bret Olivero, who owns Sup Dogs, said the Tar Heels getting this far in the tournament has been huge for the Franklin Street economy. The restaurant posted record sales on Saturday, and between game days, they had the highest-grossing Sunday of all time.
The restaurant charged $40 for entry with guests required to spend $40 and tip at least 20%.
“Honestly, I could’ve charged five times that,” Oliverio said. “People are here. We’re packed and they’re ready to spend money.”
Oliverio said he felt like a Heels win over Kansas was meant to be.
“What I tell our staff all the time is they’ll remember tonight for the rest of their lives. We’re lucky to be part of that,” he said.
Outside, Franklin Street was bustling with crowds of people making their way to TVs or trying to sneak into bars that were closely monitoring capacity. Fire marshals made the rounds all evening.
The town’s first-responders also were ready for a possible second night of raucous celebrations in the street. Saturday, 10 people were treated for injuries and four were taken to the hospital as illegal bonfires and fireworks were part of the celebration.
Monday, town workers were seen spraying cooking oil on the utility poles to prevent people from climbing them.
That Duke win is plenty for fans
Away from Franklin Street, the Dean E. Smith Center filled up with fans ready to storm the court normally reserved for the team. From opposite sides of the Smith Center, Tar Heel diehards exchanged chants of “Tar!” and “Heel!” before erupting into applause.
Sawyer Robinson, 13, wearing a UNC-blue Michael Jordan jersey, was aglow with hometown pride at his first watch party in the Dean Dome.
”I didn’t think they’d get this far,” he said.
Sawyer’s father, Kevin Robinson, is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus. It’s his son’s dream to attend in a few years.
”There are three things he’s not allowed to say in the house,” Kevin Robinson said of his son. “The word ‘hate,’ ‘Boston’ – because I’m a huge Yankees fan – and ‘Duke.’ We don’t speak those words.”
But a loss wouldn’t devastate him. The more important win was Saturday against Duke in the semifinals.
”It was a bigger deal on Saturday,” Sawyer said, “but this would be amazing.”
That was a common sentiment among UNC fans who felt that two back-to-back Duke victories were even more satisfying than the National Championship title.
“To be honest with you, I feel like Saturday was our national championship,” said Mike Obes, in town from Los Angeles for the weekend. “Tonight was almost like eating leftovers on Thanksgiving. They’re still good, but we already had our fill. Sending Coach K into retirement — that was our national championship. That’s going to live on forever.”
Somber mood
Still, as the minutes ticked down and those hopes and dreams of victory ticked away with it, the mood grew somber in Chapel Hill.
The Dean Dome fell silent, as quiet as it had been all night. UNC fan David Conner shuffled past people in his aisle and headed up the stairs.
”I ain’t staying to see this,” he said. “I can’t take it.”
“Hark the Sound” blared across the Smith Center’s sound system in the moments after UNC’s loss. On this night, the mighty march sounded like a dirge. The chorus was often interrupted by muffled sobs.
At Might As Well, tears began flowing as the game clock ran out shortly before midnight.
“At least we beat Duke,” junior Andrew Harris said instantly. “Go Heels. I’m proud of everybody.”
Obes, who took the game in with friends at Blues on Franklin, was also in Chapel Hill for UNC’s 2016 championship game loss to Villanova. That game was also a stinging one-possession loss, but Obes said the heartbreak experienced then was far worse.
“This hurts, but we’ll get over it,” he said.
Downtown Chapel Hill opened up, and fans walked the wrong way on Franklin Street, streaming away from the intersection they had hoped to rush.
At Top of the Hill, fans took to their seats. Some put their heads in their hands. Some decided to get up and leave, unable to bear the final moments until the buzzer.
Then, stunned silence.
But it only lasted a few seconds. They began to clap. Slowly, solemnly, but then with force.
“Let’s go, Heels! Great job, Heels!” the crowd cheered.
After a few seconds of joy, the crowd got their bags, polished off their drinks and left with little more to say.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 1:35 PM with the headline "In Chapel Hill, fans’ jubilation quickly turns to heartbreak as victory escapes UNC."
