Virtual Fanatic

The Dean Smith Center was filled with shouts and cheers. The band and cheerleaders led a raucous chant of "Tar-Heels" and "U-N-C." A sea of powder blue washed over the seats in anticipation of tip-off. Then the moment finally came and the game kicked into high gear. The arena was so loud you couldn't even hear the announcer. But something was missing. There were no players or coaches. There wasn't even a basketball court, just a large screen hanging from the ceiling broadcasting the Final Four game in San Antonio.

This was our last and only chance to experience the famous "Dean Dome," home of the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a part-time student the past couple years, I haven't had the fortune of being a part of the ticket lottery, so I sadly never made it to a UNC basketball game. When we found out that last night's game would be broadcast at the Dean Dome, we jumped at the chance to at least sit inside. The experience was like none I have ever had before.

If I had closed my eyes, it would have been as if I was actually at a real basketball game. The pep band was playing, the cheerleaders were cheering, and fans were screaming and clapping all around us. At first I was a little cynical about the whole experience. Why should I get so excited and cheer like there were real players when none of us had any impact on the game. It didn't take long, however, to get caught up in the spirit and start screaming along with everyone. They couldn't hear us in San Antonio, but who cared?

Unfortunately, that spirit was blasted to pieces in the first five minutes. What had started as jubilant excitement quickly free-fell to angry shouts and then to complete silence. All around the arena, people were slouched back or holding their head in their hands. It was turning into a pretty miserable experience. Fortunately, the Heels weren't going down without a fight, and at the start of the second half, we were on our feet and yelling once again. And it only got louder. As the Heels whittled Kansas' lead to four, the Dean Dome started to shake in its foundations. Everyone was out of their seats, jumping, screaming, clapping and chanting like an actual game. It didn't matter that the game was on TV, we were sure that we were going to change the course of the game while hundreds of miles away.

Despite our concerted efforts, the game ended very unfortunately, and once again the crowd whimpered like a wounded animal. People all around us were crying and cursing and just looking generally neglected. We all trudged back to our cars and made the miserable trek home, contemplating every possible "if only" situation. And I truly believe that if all of us crazy fans at the Dean Dome had been there, the game would have turned out differently.

I will never forget my experience at the famous Dean Dome, even though no real players set foot on the court. As far as I'm concerned, this experience was as close as I'll ever get to watching a real UNC basketball game, and if they had won, it would have been perfect.