donbosco
Legend of ZZL
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#OTD (March 29) in 1982 I was in the white house at 100 Old Pittsboro Rd. in Carrboro with around 100 of my close friends. There was a regular size TV in the den and another one, along with a keg, on the front porch. That year UNC finished the regular season 24-2 (only losses were to Wake and Virginia), then swept through the ACC Tournament, and into the NCAAs. The first round, played in Charlotte, was a huge scare against ECAC champs James Madison, with Carolina freezing cold at the line with only the heroics of James Worthy pulling out the win, 52-50.
Next up was #13 ranked Alabama in a game played at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of state college. An early version of the Iron Five played almost all the minutes in that 74-69 win. James Worthy and Matt Doherty led the scoring, each with 16, while Sam Perkins chipped in 15, Jimmy Black notched 14, and freshman Michael Jordan had 11, only taking 6 shots.
The second game in the South Regional, still in Raleigh, brought in the Rollie Massimino-led Villanova Wildcats. In the match-up of coaching gurus, Coach Smith managed again to play an Iron Five and the starters again all scored in double figures, this time Jordan leading the team with 15. UNC shot 57% from the field and 20-24 from the line.
On to the Final Four in New Orleans and Chapel Hill was Fired UP – Would Coach Smith finally win it all? “Interest is at an all-time high. It’s like Russian Roulette, that’s why people are talking about it so much,” ~ Coach Smith. On Franklin Street, bar owners and The Happy Store tripled their beer orders though town police strongly requested that no bottles be sold on game nights (Saturday and Monday). Blue paint sold out, but again, vendors were cooperating in the main with stores, asking that they sell only water-soluble stock.
Saturday’s 3:39 pm game was Carolina versus Houston – yet another clash of coaches, Coach Smith squaring off against Guy Lewis (who had two NCAA Final Fours under his belt but no crown). The Cougars were ranked #6 and 25-7. There were not quite yet Phi Slamma Jamma but Clyde Drexler was a promising sophomore and Akeem Olajuwon was first man off the bench. Carolina prevailed that afternoon 68-63 led by 25 points and 10 rebounds from Sam Perkins.
And that set up the Final versus Georgetown, coached by one of Dean Smith’s best friends, John Thompson. We all know that game – James Worthy earned his nickname, “Big Game James” by scoring 28 points, Hoyas center Patrick Ewing goaltended the five of the first seven Tar Heel shots, and Michael Jordan hit “The Shot.” And Coach had his first National Championship after almost 20 years of trying.
At 100 Old Pittsboro Road in Carrboro, the floor almost caved in from the joyous leaping and bouncing – I suspect that the balance brought on by 30 people in the den and another 30 on the front porch probably kept the collapse from happening.
Thankfully for That Old House all of those folks immediately propelled themselves eastward out of Carrboro and onward to Franklin Street into a true Blue Heaven of happiness…and relief. I remember the feeling of being swept along with the masses, shouting and carousing, and that the walk took no more than 30 seconds at best. I can think back to some of the people that were at that house but I doubt I could recall everyone of them…perhaps it was like Walter Davis’ half-court buzzer beater or REM at The Station and if you ask there’ll be a thousand who remember being there? Were you? If not, then WHERE were you?
