‘We’re proud of them’

Thousands of fans left the Smith Center stunned Monday night after watching Carolina’s basketball team rally from a 10-point deficit in the NCAA title game – only to fall to Villanova 77-74 on a last-second buzzer beater.

But those fans left proud, as well.

“It’s going to take a while to swallow this one, but it’s always a good day to be a Tar Heel,” said Owen Syed, a sophomore. “We’re proud of our guys for everything they did in the game. They played the game the best they could and we’re proud of them.”

While the team was playing in Houston, approximately 10,000 fans crowded the Smith Center for a viewing party hosted by Carolina Athletics and Carolina After Dark at Student Wellness.

It was a loud, boisterous crowd, spurred on by Carolina’s cheerleaders and band. The party drew both far-traveling fans and locals – such as Cameron Hummel, a first-year student who lined up early to watch the game at the Tar Heels’ home arena.

“We’ve got to support our boys,” he said. “These are our classmates. We see them walking around campus every day. They go to class with us, and it’s just really fun to get behind a team. We’ve seen them progress over the year and grow. Now they’re here on the biggest stage of the year, and we’re here to support them.”

For several Carolina students, the championship festivities began long before tipoff. Hummel and Hannah Collier, along with a group of friends, waited outside for nearly 10 hours for the doors to open.

“It’s basketball season, we’ve got to be out here,” Hummel said. “We’ve had somebody out here since 11 o’clock. We’ve just been rotating people in and here we are in front of the line.”

And after the final buzzer sounded in the back-and-forth game, many lingered – surprised, broken-hearted and trying to soak in the many positives of a season in which the Tar Heels finished 33-7.

“We did so well,” said senior Cassidy Dehart. “We made it this far. This is amazing. Just smile that we’ve made it this far. It’s emotional, but we did so well.”