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Sports

An outsider moves in

Originally published February 26, 2008

By Steve Peha

I grew up in Seattle following the Washington Huskies during the John Wooden years. I saw UCLA play once: Bill Walton scored 24 points in the first half and drank Gatorade from the bench for the entirety of the second. (Man, the way he could lift that bottle was pure poetry in motion.) That about sums up my childhood as a college basketball fan. It all came down to how bad we were going to lose to UCLA.

Now, having married a native Chapel Hillian and moved to the South, I have been infected with Tar Heel Fever. Twice a week during the winter months, we raise the rafters here at home as my wife paces the floor, harangues the refs and makes sure we get back on D after a bucket. Up until last year, we even had a dog that would bark at Duke players when they went to the free-throw line.

I’ve been to the Dean Dome and even shaken the man’s hand. I’ve sat across from Roy Williams at Sutton’s. I’ve brushed by Tyler Hansbrough on Franklin Street. (Is he really 6’9”?) Never has a team so dominated my life. True, there are nights when I secretly wish I could be watching “American Idol,” but just between you and me, I’m happy as could be with my little slice of Blue Heaven.