A Dook fan friend of mine (yes, I have several), offered to sell me tickets he was not using for the third round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Greensboro on Sunday. Kitty and I took him up on it and went to enjoy the Carolina blue atmosphere that came from being the last area school at the site.

The showing of Carolina fans at pre-game activities was entertaining. Every age fan was turned out in Heel regalia.

The Tar Heels were heavily favored against Creighton. Creighton’s offensive plan (pun intended) was thuggish. Their play included double forearm shivers at the throat of Tyler Zeller, several defenders fist hacking at the taped injured wrist of John Henson, and the shove that resulted in Kendall Marshall’s broken wrist. Quite a show from the Jesuit school from Nebraska.

I’m an old fart who spent 1967-1979 in Chapel Hill. Most of the games I saw were in Carmichael Auditorium, the 8,000 seat arena known as one of the loudest courts in the country. The Greensboro crowd was the match for those screamers, drowning Creighton in a noise cocoon that was formidable. Beat the hell out of the wine and cheese crowd who built the Smith Center which is now home to the Tar Heels.

It was GREAT fun!

Tournament action here.