Blogging the Championship

Quite a number of locals blogged about the Tarheels victory last Monday night. Permeating our unity in support of this team is quite a lot of diversity in our reactions. Here is a collection of blog posts on everything from the players to the politics:

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On the partying:

Town Council Member Sally Greene: "Fire chief Dan Jones came up with this: why not have an official bonfire somewhere on campus? But UNC hasn't warmed to the idea, and the police chief isn't so sure about it either, thinking shades of Texas A&M."

Sally was also guest blogging at Is That Legal? where she posted the police report and my picture of two women climbing a pole at the corner of Franklin and Columbia. Sally's husband Paul Jones posted pictures of the victory celebration at the Dean Dome when the team returned.

Justin Watt posted a great picture of himself reveling on Franklin Street with his girlfriend on his shoulders.

ibiblio staff: "Blue Haze is everywhere around here..."

I wrote about overcoming my longstanding fear of the drunken victory crowds on Franklin Street: "In recent years, I have managed to put on my sturdy shoes and head up there with some reliable friends. I have observed some mayhem, but no personal harm. A little chaos is A-OK with me!"

Brian @ Geneffects: "All holidays should be celebrated with a two-day orgy. Hunting for eggs? Microwaving peeps? What the hell kind of spring celebration is that? The only opportunity this puritanical society gets to properly initiate the rites of spring is if, by chance, your town's college wins the NCAA championship."

Jason Baker: "Dear People Who Are Not From Chapel Hill: You can go home now. "

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On the political side:

Chris Kromm @ Facing South: "This is a golden era for women's basketball... On top of it all, everything they say about women's basketball is true: there's more teamwork, more nifty ball handling, more smart play below the rim."

Brian Russell @ AudioActivism.org: "How can winning a national college basketball championship inspire tens of thousands of college students and other fans to take to the streets but thousands of dead American solders, dead Iraqi men, women, and children can not inspire the same number of people to take to the streets in downtown Chapel Hill?"

Jude Nagurney Camwell posted a picture of the Edwards family (John, Elizabeth, Jack, and Emma Claire) attending the game.

Greensboro's Ed Cone wrote about the obscure 1924 Tarheels' "Championship", the superiority of the ACC, and enjoying basketball with his kids.

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On the team & the game:

Tim Ross: "Hey sportswriters, can we now come clean and admit that despite your lazy analysis, teamwork and talent are not always mutually exclusive?!?"

Mike Nutt: "Did you really think that a coach dressed like this [in a bright orange blazer] could win a national championship?"

George Entenman: "I never think they're going to win, and then they do."

Tony Plutonium biked uptown and had trouble finding a place to watch, but finally settled in: "Honestly, I don't remember a lot of the game - after a bunch of beers and yacking with Jack and Kerry and Laird and other members of the Cave regulars, I watched the first half but a lot of it didn't really sink in. I did note Jawad's early 3s with much delight as well as the apparent unstoppableness of young Mr. May." He also posted pictures of the scene at the Cave and folks on Franklin Street.

Former DTH columnist, Brooklynite, and expectant father Ian Williams: "It was the family that won last night, the extended cadre of folks I love that created a blast area, a diaspora thousands of miles in radius from the Old Well, with our collective affection still concentrated on that campus... I'm in love with everybody and everything. I am totally sick and can't speak, just like that night in 1993." Ian also shared a touching story about Coach Roy Williams and the sweetest photo of him that I have ever seen.

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I hope you had at least half as much fun as these bloggers, dear readers. Feel free to share your own stories below.