A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend Senior Night against Duke. It was a day I have been looking forward to ever since my freshman year. I’ve been lucky enough to attend senior night each year that I have been at UNC. All of them have been special for their own reasons, but the one from this year was probably the most special.
Here is a look back at the other senior nights before I get into this year’s senior night.
Freshman Year
During my freshman year at UNC, our men’s basketball team played Syracuse for senior night. I entered the lottery but had no luck. On game day, I left my final class of the day and saw many students in UNC gear heading down to the game.
I wandered into Rams Dining Hall for a quick bite. It was the dead time between lunch and dinner, so Rams was empty. I went to get a sandwich and some pizza. While I was around the pizza area, I noticed an acquaintance named Wade. I had some small talk with him and right before I was about to part ways, I asked what he was about to do. He said he was gonna head down to the basketball game after eating. I told him that it was cool that he got tickets and that I wish I could’ve won the lottery so I could go too. Wade then stopped himself and pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket. It was a phase 1 ticket! He said he had an extra ticket and that I was welcome to come along if I wanted. Of course I said YES!!!
That game was extra special because it was Brice and Marcus’ senior night. We beat Syracuse and then the seniors gave their senior night speeches after the game. It was an emotional moment and I was glad to be a part of it. I realized in this moment that my senior year senior night game would be against Duke and I was already looking forward to it.
Sophomore Year
The following year, senior night was against Duke. Somehow I was lucky enough to win a ticket for phase 5. I was at the very top corner of the dean dome, but I couldn’t be happier. I was at a Duke game after all. It was always my dream to attend one of these games and I was there. This game also turned out to be legendary “The ceiling is the roof” moment from Michael Jordan at halftime. Of course we beat Duke that night and rushed Franklin after which was another great moment.
Junior Year
I didn’t go to senior night my junior year because I was abroad in Spain for the spring semester (we lost to Miami.)
Senior Year
After not winning a lottery all year, I was a little nervous heading into this lottery. Reminder emails for signing up to the ticket lotteries resulted in an increased amount of entrants, thereby lowering the chance to win. More and more casuals that had never signed up before, were signing up for the lotteries and winning them. Despite the senior status advantage, I was sweating it a little bit.
Luckily, I was able to win a phase 2 ticket and my best friend, Ravshan, also got a phase 2 ticket. This was Ravshan’s first Duke game, so we tried to make sure we got the most out of this opportunity.
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- Our seniors and Roy
ESPN’s College GameDay came to UNC for the final edition of the season. I had never gone to GameDay before, so we got up at 6am to get ready for a full day of madness. The show itself was really fun. I study broadcast production, so it was cool seeing them setup the whole show. Ravshan and I sat on the second row and appeared on camera a good amount of times. The environment was incredible. People poured in with creative and hilarious signs that made fun of Duke. Our team came out during the show and they greeted the fans .
When game time arrived, we ended up sitting behind the band, which provided a crazy hype experience. But the guys with the huge tubas sat right in front of us. We thought we were in a comedy sitcom or something, so we ended up going around and tried to sneak find another spot to watch the game from. We ended up going down to the opposite side where all the richest people probably sit. We sat down on the steps and had a great view of the game. It was mesmerizing just how close we were to the action. Maybe one day I can pay my way into those types of seats, but I’m more than fine with the first half of this game; we eventually were told to move by one of the workers.
Great “seats”
When we returned to our seats at halftime, we found out that the tuba players put their instruments down during the game….so we just stayed there the rest of the game. As great as the view was from up close on the other side, the energy and vibe of being with the other students and the band, blew it away. We pulled out the win and I almost lost my voice. The senior speeches were were emotional. Luke and Kenny were our seniors. I could reflect on their speeches in similar ways.
And when the speeches were over, it was time to rush Franklin, right? Even Roy told us we were free to go out and celebrate….but I couldn’t.
I couldn’t leave. I lingered around and took pictures. I stood and took everything in. When Hark the Sound came out, I sung it loudly and passionately. It was an emotional moment. This was it. I won’t be able to experience this again as a student.
There’s not much to this blog other then writing down and reflecting on these moments. Senior night was a special moment for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be back in the Dean Dome after this game and these games have been a major part of my college experience. Just thought I’d write my last experience down.
Thankful for this opportunity.
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