Art by Tatum Asrican
UNC football is making all of us look bad.
I love UNC. It’s the better blue. As a Durhamite, I have spent my entire life defending my beliefs.
Win or lose, I’ve always been a Tar Heel fan. Unfortunately, that does mean I’m no stranger to disappointment. I even started watching ACC baseball just to see Carolina win something.
Last year, our football team’s record was 6-7. I had already accepted another season of waiting to “get ’em next week.”
Then, the school hired Bill Belichick, perhaps the greatest NFL coach of all time. A complete overhaul of the football program breathed new life into fans like me.
I vouched for Bill; I bought merch. Despite the voices defaming my beloved team, my faith never wavered. We would prove ourselves to the naysayers. This is our year.
I ate my words when TCU rolled over us in the home opener. But maybe one loss was just a fluke. Texas schools take football too seriously anyway.
The next two Saturdays were painless. The Tar Heels beat Richmond and UNC-Charlotte, both ranking dead last in their respective leagues.
Then came week four, and we lost to UCF. Week five, I sat in Kenan Stadium as the Clemson Tigers, another ACC disappointment, scored on their first drive and led 35-3 by halftime. The losing streak continued in weeks six and seven, coming up painfully short against Cal Berkley and Virginia.
UNC is now 2-5, and my preseason hopes seem like delusions of grandeur. It’s hard to have my heart broken every Saturday, but it’s even harder when our losing record isn’t the worst thing about the team.
Carolina made a massive investment in Belichick, and he turned the Tar Heels into a circus act.
The media ridicule is nonstop. He brings his uncomfortably young girlfriend to work. Rumors swirl that he is counting down until he can use the buyout clause in his contract. Seven players have left the team since week one.
Good things take time, but Belichick wasn’t hired for a rebuild. Maybe he’s washed up and embarrassing himself. What’s much worse is that he’s embarrassing Carolina fans like me. Between media scrutiny and turnover within the program, it seems UNC needs to address issues off the field to see success on it.
