ENJOYING THE RIDE
PHOTOS BY JEFFREY A. CAMARATI/ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
stricted and uninhibited, the warranty covers anyone anywhere of any age, and it pays
double when you’re part of a larger community. These people care, care a lot. As a
psychiatrist, Dr. Linnea Smith ’ 76 (MD)
knows the phenomenon on both the clinical and personal levels. Dean Smith’s wife
says the retired patriarch of Carolina basketball “never understood when he was
coaching how anxious people could get
until he started staying at home and watching the games on television himself.”
Since relinquishing his scepter in 1997,
Smith has preferred to suffer or celebrate in
private and keep his thoughts to himself.
Unlike, say, our Captain Kirk, who favors a
crowd and savors a conversation. The
Chicago-area magazine executive helped
organize a nine-person e-mail web that
chatters before, during and after all the
meaningful games, whether the participants
are courtside or on a couch. Count me in.
We may not paint our faces, but the light
blue hue of our blood is unmistakable.
We’ve all been harking the sound since
before the current players were born — all,
that is, except for Bret Dougherty ’ 94, a
THE DAILY TAR HEEL
Counterclockwise from top: Tyler
Hansbrough, who entered his senior
season with his jersey already retired
but lacking the title on which he
focused so intently, was a rock
throughout the tournament. Wayne
Ellington was pure gold in the finale,
chosen most outstanding player;
after the first 19 seconds, the
Spartans never led again, and the
Heels would win their tournament
games by an average of 20.1 points.
Tar Heel fans were an unmistakable
presence in Michigan.
