When the clock hit 0:00 on the game between UNC and Kansas in the Elite Eight, and the Kansas players began hugging each other in celebration, the season was over for UNC.
Most fans dejectedly turned their televisions off and started thinking about next year, but the journey wasn’t over yet for UNC’s team.
They still had a flight to catch back to Chapel Hill:
#UNCBBall team should land at RDU at 10:50. That puts them at Smith Center around 11:15 or 11:30. Hope to see you there.
— Tar Heel Monthly (@TarHeelMonthly) March 26, 2012
Athletics department rep says they’re expecting a good crowd, but don’t know when the team will arrive.
— Eliza Kern (@elizakern) March 26, 2012
While most players hope for a hero’s welcome that comes with winning a national championship, every team except one will return home from the tournament in defeat. And every year, UNC fans come out to greet their players, reminding the Tar Heel boys that they’re still proud:
Still about 200+ students here waiting behind barricades. No sign of the team yet.
— Eliza Kern (@elizakern) March 26, 2012
It was a quiet but enthusiastic crowd that gathered in the parking lot behind the Dean Dome, awaiting the team’s arrival. Most of the students in the group were seniors, but there were plenty of freshman, older Chapel Hill citizens and University staff in attendance as well.
Students wait behind barricades at the parking lot behind the Dean Dome, ready to greet the returning men's basketball team. Eliza Kern/reesenews
Senior Anthony Dent waited in line with his girlfriend, who he said was “better informed about these things,” than he was, and alerted him about the event.
What would he tell the team, if he got the chance?
Click below to hear Dent’s advice:
The team was expected to arrive around 11:15, but didn’t make an appearance until much later. In the meantime, students stood with friends to re-hash the game and plan what they’d do when the team finally arrived:
Students are making plans to sing the alma mater when they arrive. One guy “Maybe they’ll appreciate it and won’t go to the NBA next year.”
— Sara Gregory (@saragregory) March 26, 2012
Click below to hear students singing Hark the Sound, the alma mater:
One of the members of the crowd was Lisa Woodard, a Chapel Hill resident since 1966. When she first bought season tickets, they cost $27 for nine games. “I won’t tell you what they cost now,” she laughed.
Woodward said she’s come out to support the homecoming Heels most years she’s lived in Chapel Hill, and it’s easier to hear when they’ll arrive with Twitter and Facebook. She says she follows @TarHeelMonthly on Twitter, although “a lot of my contemporaries think I’m a little crazy for being on Twitter.”
Click below to hear why Woodard talk about why she keeps coming to support the team:
Woodward Tweeted at the players, thanking them for a great season and letting them know fans were waiting:
@dstrick01 -we’re waiting at the Smith Center for y’all
— Linda Woodard (@DaddysMarbleyes) March 26, 2012
Soon, it began raining, and students pulled out their umbrellas. They kept waiting.
When it started raining, fans pulled out umbrellas to continue waiting for the Tar Heels to return home. Eliza Kern/reesenews
John Coffey, another Chapel Hill resident, said he’s been coming out to greet the homecoming Heels for more than 20 years.
Click below to hear Coffey talk about about the first UNC basketball championship he remembers:
When the bus finally arrived, it crept into the parking lot and went right past the waiting students into the parking garage under the Dean Dome. Loud cheers turned into disappointed grumbling when students thought the team was going to bypass them.
And… the team bus just arrived, and drove past students into the Dean Dome. Fairly disappointed folk here.
— Eliza Kern (@elizakern) March 26, 2012
But before long, a familiar gray-haired head appeared from the underground parking area, coming up to greet the students. Head Coach Roy Williams appeared with an umbrella in hand, and started shaking hands with every students lining the parking lot. If they fans weren’t enthusiastic about Williams before, they were now:
Roy is out in the rain, shaking fans hands. This is something.
— Eliza Kern (@elizakern) March 26, 2012
Click below to watch a video of Williams thanking the waiting fans:
[youtube width="695" height="450"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-60JLbFWKE[/youtube]
After Williams left, the players began emerging from the underground area, heading to their cars parked next to the students. First came Dexter Strickland in his purple sweater, then Tyler Zeller, who walked with his head down to his car.
The waiting fans cheered loudly for every player who emerged, but when Kendall Marshall emerged, they went nuts. The beloved point guard, who injured his wrist in the game against Creighton a week earlier, went to put this bag in the car, and then turned back to the fans. Marshall proceeded to go down the line, shaking hands with every student waiting:
Kendall Marshall goes down the line of UNC fans waiting to greet the returning team. Eliza Kern/reesenews
When the last player left the parking lot, the security guards started collecting up barricades, and the crowd turned to head home:
And that’s it. @kbutter5, @stilwatawhite, and Roy were the only ones to greet the fans. “Thank you guys,” security guard tells us.
— Eliza Kern (@elizakern) March 26, 2012
