Enjoying the Madness
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It’s March Madness, and as a graduate of North Carolina State University, I am thoroughly enjoying it. We Wolfpack fans haven’t had much to celebrate in the way of basketball for a long time, so watching both the men’s and women’s teams progress to the NCAA Final Four has been quite the exciting experience.
In the fall of 1997, I submitted college applications to my four top choices — UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, North Carolina State University and Appalachian State University. I also applied for the North Carolina Teaching Fellow Scholarship. UNC-Chapel Hill was my first choice, but one thing led to another, and after receiving the Teaching Fellows scholarship, I decided to attend NC State and am so glad I did.
During my freshman year, a group of us attended a men’s basketball game at Reynolds Coliseum which was fortuitous since that was the last year the men competed at that site. Since 1999, only the women have played at Reynolds while the men have played at PNC Arena several miles from campus.
While a student at NC State, you couldn’t help but hear stories about the legendary Jimmy V, as well as the 1974 and 1983 men’s teams. In fact, during the basketball game we attended at Reynolds, David Thompson and other members of his team were honored at halftime.
Herb Sendek was the basketball coach while I was a student and from what I remember, the teams were pretty good during those years but never made it far in the NCAA tournament. Additionally, those were the days of Phillip Rivers and Torry Holt playing for the football team, so it was a fun time to be a student. I also worked at a longstanding pizza joint called Two Guys, located on Hillsborough Street, directly across from the campus, where people came in droves to watch NC State sporting events as well as Carolina Hurricanes games. It was a very festive, fun place to work and nothing but Wolfpack memorabilia decorated every wall.
As the years progressed and I became a mom to two little boys, we would stop by NC State on the way to the Carolina coast each year and take an annual photo in front of the Memorial Belltower. Then, as time often does, the years went by in a blurr and other than watching football and basketball on TV, I don’t have too many thrilling memories centered around Pack sports.
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Until this year.
It started in the fall when the NC State women’s cross country team was having another extraordinary season. Meanwhile, we had two cross country runners in our house who were having strong freshmen seasons for Tuscola High School. We watched the NCAA Cross Country Championships on TV where the NC State women finished first for the third year in a row.
The NC State football team also had a great season. After our kids competed in the 3A Cross Country State Championship, we drove to Raleigh and attended the NC State vs. Miami football game where the Wolfpack beat the Hurricanes, 20-6. Several weeks later, I enjoyed watching NC State beat Carolina in football. My favorite player to watch this season was Payton Wilson.
Then basketball season started where both the men’s and women’s teams had strong initial showings. The women continued to play well while the men’s team ebbed and flowed, which was frustrating to watch since this particular group of guys was supposed to be a strong team.
The ACC tournament began and something switched on for DJ Burns Jr., DJ Horne and the rest of the Wolfack. They have been on fire and it’s been a blast for supporters. Even the Carolina and Duke fans I know are pulling for NC State. You can’t deny how much fun this team is to watch, especially Burns.
Some people are calling them a Cinderella team, which I guess in a way they are, even though they clearly have skills that put them at the level of the top-seeded teams. I just think it took them a little longer to finally trust one another.
I looked up the definition of Cinderella team on fanarch.com and it said, “The key characteristics that define a team as a Cinderella story encompass their underdog status, unexpected success, and the element of surprise. These stories often involve a team that is perceived as having little chance of winning, yet they navigate through challenges to achieve remarkable victories.”
To me, this perfectly sums up the tournament surge demonstrated by the Wolfpack. As for my NCAA bracket, I have NC State winning the entire thing and am apparently part of the small 1.94% of people who have them in the Final Four.
As a couple cherries on top, the NC State gymnastics and wrestling teams were also crowned ACC champions this year. With so much heavy stuff going on in the world, it’s fun to watch sports and experience the emotion of everything, especially when it’s your favorite team in the spotlight. As we go into the Final Four weekend, all I can say is Goooo Pack!
(Susanna Shetley is a writer, editor and digital media specialist who lives in Haywood County. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
