My first game was the Connor Barth FG game at UNC in 2004. I was in the UNC student section. Wasn’t a student but a friend who was got me an ID so I could watch the game for free. My late dad and little sister were in the stands across the field. I never saw them, couldn’t get over there. It was awful.
Went the the LSU peach bowl game that year too. Pure misery, except I did get to ride and sit with my dad and two other friends, who were brothers. There was a drunk Miami fan on the tram after the game who was singing the Auburn fight song, got the whole car to join in. Best part of the night. One year later my dad was dead and one of the brothers was in prison for manslaughter. They’re all still Canes though.
We didn’t win a single game I attended until App State a season ago. That was a lot of fun, seeing the crowd go explode when that safety lit Walton up, then go quiet as a used firework when he kept running. Any hope they had was a lie after that. Saw the Russel Wilson game at NC State, with the brother who didn’t go to jail. This time he was drunk, and I thought for sure we were going to die on their concrete bleachers as he picked multiple fights with the Wolfpack. He is large. I am not.
As you might have guessed, I can travel to ACC country easier than home games, though some day I hope to make one.