‘We love you guys!’ Fans gather at Smith Center to welcome home their Tar Heel team
The hundreds of fans who gathered at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill Tuesday seemed not to mind the Tar Heels loss to Kansas in the NCAA championship game the night before — they were there to shower their team with love and convey a tangible sense of pride.
Less than a full day after the three-point loss to the Jayhawks, the UNC men’s basketball team and coaching staff returned to campus around 3:30 p.m., stepping off the team bus into a crowd of Carolina students and community members that stretched from Skipper Bowles Drive to the Smith Center.
From the cheering crowd, there were shouts of “We love you guys!” “Thanks for the joy you give us!” and of course “TAR! HEELS!”
Davis made a short speech to those gathered.
“We really just want to just thank you guys for this entire season . . . The support you’ve given these guys, this program, this university, this coaching staff, myself in my first year. You’ve given such encouragement to us. You helped us this entire season. Your love and your support for us, cheering us on — it made us play harder, it made us practice harder, it made us prepare harder,” Davis said.
“As sad and disappointed as I think all of us are, I’m so proud of these kids,” Davis continued, as fans erupted in cheers. “I can’t be more proud of a group of kids than I am of these.”
The Tar Heels, an eight seed under first-year head coach Hubert Davis, had made an improbable run in the tournament, along the way knocking off Baylor, a No. 1 seed and reigning national champion, plus beating rival Duke in a historic Final Four matchup that marked the end of Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career.
The run came to an end Monday night, as the Tar Heels lost 69-72 to Kansas in the title game.
Anna Applegate, who graduated from UNC in 2004, came from Raleigh with her three sons to greet the team.
The boys held signs showing their appreciation for and pride in the team, including one that mentioned the Duke game in the Final Four, what many fans see as a consolation prize for losing the championship.
“Well, we ended Coach K’s career!” the sign read.
The boys said they were excited to see some of their favorite players, including Puff Johnson, Caleb Love and Brady Manek.
“I want to see Caleb, to make him feel better and to make sure he knows it’s fine he missed that shot, and he made a ton of other shots,” James Applegate, 10, said.
The boys said they are excited for next basketball season, and hope their mom buys them tickets to some games.
Beating Duke is the greatest gift of all
Dana Behan, who graduated from UNC in 1996, and her daughter, Natalie, came from Holly Springs to welcome the team. Natalie was celebrating her 15th birthday Tuesday, and their family had watched Monday’s final at the Smith Center watch party.
The duo was sad about the championship loss, saying they felt heartbroken for the team.
“I just wanted them to win so badly, because they’re an amazing bunch,” Dana Behan said. “And they’ve come so far.”
But overall, they said they were proud of the Tar Heels for making it to the championship — and perhaps more than that, beating Duke in the Final Four.
“She said all she wanted for her birthday was to beat Duke,” Dana Behan said of her daughter. “So we got that.”
For students, a dream fulfilled
For current Carolina students, the experience of watching the Tar Heels play in the championship fulfilled dreams that they have had since deciding to attend the school, or even before — dreams that have been put on hold in recent years as the team struggled and the COVID pandemic changed the “normal” student experience.
Emily Hendrix, a Carolina sophomore, said she remembers watching the Tar Heels capture their last national championship in 2017.
“All I could think about was, I can’t wait to be there to experience that as a student,” Hendrix said.
“So, it’s kind of surreal, actually getting the experience, especially after last year not getting anything. It’s a really amazing experience and I hope I get to do it again for these guys.”
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 3:38 PM.
