Tar Heel For Life

As I briefly mentioned before, the Toronto Raptors recently came to play the Washington Wizards. If you're like me, you may have thought one or all of the following things:

• The NBA is still a thing?
• Why in the hell is DC's team named the Wizards?
• When did Tyler leave that team he was on somewhere in the Midwest?

Those first two questions I ask myself repeatedly. The last question wasn't asked until after tickets were purchased to see the Raptors vs. Wizards, leaving me to assume he had indeed been traded.

Why do I care about the Raptors? Because, of course, one of the greatest players to ever wear the Carolina jersey happens to be on that team. And with a vibrant UNC alumni community in the DC area, and enough of us that bought tickets and committed to form a fan tunnel, we were allowed on the court prior to game time to do just that.

It was really neat to be on the court. (Especially in heeled boots. The coaches at my high school would've died.)

I was with two of my favorite Carolina girls, of course. Plus about 30 other alums, including a few we've met at events in the past.

After just a few minutes on the court, the Raptors (unexpectedly) emerged and ran through our pom pom-waving, Tar Heel-loving, Tyler-cheering tunnel. Well, some did, others avoided it all together and others just mocked our cries of "Go, Tyler!" Tyler himself just look embarrassed. Oh well. Guess you shouldn't be a beloved UNC player, buddy. Tar Heel is a lifetime title.

We were able to stay on the court long enough to see him take a few practice shots.

Then it was up to our nosebleed seats for the first half. Tyler put in some good time in both halves.

For the second half we snuck in to lower level seats. The stadium was less than sold out but it was surprisingly difficult to sneak past the guards. We ended up in a section with the dance moms of the halftime show, so we didn't exactly blend in, but it worked out.

The Raptors won by quite a bit so that was nice to see. It's so weird to me still that a professional basketball team is just a few metro stops away. I guess I could try and go more but I think we all know my heart lies with a certain college basketball down South.