Fans Leaving Early Concerns Some at UNC

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Fans Leaving Early Concerns Some at UNC

By Sam Rosenthal

Mar 5, 2008

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — At the University of North Carolina, few issues arise annually as often as the issue of fans leaving home basketball games early – particularly during the past few years, when the Tar Heels’ success resulted in many games that were “over” early.

Normally, if UNC leads by 10-15 points against any opponent – Duke included – you will see at least some fans heading for the exits as early as the seven-minute mark in the second half. With three or four minutes to play and a double-digit lead, more than a fourth of the stadium usually clears out.

A recent flurry of letters to the editor of The Daily Tar Heel – the student newspaper – once again brought this issue to the foreground. First, an alumnus urged UNC students to, in essence, persecute alumni who leave early. Then a graduate student responded in defense of the alumni, enumerating reasons why they have every right to leave early and why students have no right to ridicule them. A third letter, this time penned by a UNC senior, refuted the second.

On Tuesday night – Senior Night at the Smith Center – Carolina routed Florida State, 90-77. The home crowd that stayed put, for the most part, and also proved a few points:

Not all alumni leave early.

Not all students stay late.

When people leave early, the players care – from walk-ons like Surry Wood to All-Americas like Tyler Hansbrough.

UNC fan Bert Smith graduated from Carolina in 1973. He said that the season tickets he now uses have been in his family since his years as an undergraduate.

“The only reason I leave early is because I have a long drive home, and I have to get up for work in the morning. Sometimes it makes as much as an hour’s difference what time I get out of a game,” Smith said. “But normally I go with the students when they say, ‘Game’s not o-ver. Game’s not o-ver.’ I don’t join in, but I feel like that. I hate to see people leave early. …

“I don’t think it sends a real good message. I like to stay here to support the team to the very end. … Even when I have a long way to go and I leave early, I have a problem with it, for myself, because I really think I should stay.”

But Smith certainly understands many fans’ reasons for leaving – reasons that sometimes elude students.

“They’ll understand, too, one day when they get to be 60 years old and have responsibilities and stuff,” Smith said. “It’s a big commitment when you’ve got a daily job, and you’ve got to spend two hours driving up, get here an hour before the game, two hours at the game, 30 minutes getting out of the game, and two hours home – that’s a long part of your day as opposed to walking over to your dorm.”

Toward the end of Tuesday’s game, the Tar Heels had put the game out of reach, and a number of people left (although it paled in comparison to some Smith Center exoduses). But Smith, true to his word, stood in place until the end, cheering.

The same cannot be said of two UNC students – juniors Hanes Harris and Austin Smith, both members of the Tar Heel tennis team. During a television timeout with 7:29 left in the game and North Carolina leading, 69-55, the pair decided to leave.
“I’m comfortable with our lead,” Harris said. “We’re going to win.”

Austin Smith said, “If it was close, we wouldn’t leave early. But since we’re winning handily, and we don’t want to get stuck in traffic, we’re going to go.”
As for the “It’s not o-ver” chant?

“I’ve gotten that before. I feel bad. I don’t leave early all the time, just a couple times,” Smith said. “We’re in a hurry to get somewhere.”

And that’s what it seems to come down to – beating the traffic and hurrying to get somewhere. In close games, these matters seem much more trivial.

According to junior Andrew Coonin, the Carolina Athletic Association’s president-elect, “It’s pretty disappointing to see people leave. It seems like they care more about their cars than their alma maters or the people that bring them 35 minutes of great playing.”

Coonin believes that people leaving early sends a message about Carolina fans.

“It says that watching the game is not as important as other things in their life, and while they’re paying all this money to make it seem like Carolina and the Athletic Department is very important and is something that they care about so much, then they leave – it’s hypocritical in a way.”

He does not deny that the ticket holders have “the right to view and enjoy the game the way they want to,” but feels that those who leave miss out on important traditions such as the singing of the alma mater and the appearance of walk-ons at the ends of blowouts.

“It’s really exciting when we’re up a lot to see some of the guys on the bench playing more,” Coonin said. “They don’t get an opportunity to play often, so if we can be there to cheer for them, why not?”

Sophomore Chris Heins, a member of the student fan organization Carolina Fever, seems like the stereotypical Tar Heel zealot – he led all of Fever in a rendition of “Sweet Caroline” during Tuesday’s game – but he sees the issue of leaving early from both sides.

“People get jaded. Some of the alumni have been coming here forever … One game is the same as the next,” Heins said. “Students, it’s all new to them, so they’re more gung-ho and energetic.”

Heins said that “it all depends what the players think … They might not feel like they’re being supported like they should be, because they’re playing hard to the end (and people leave early).”

Heins noted that at the Clemson home game earlier this year, which UNC won in double-overtime, only a few people left.
“For half an hour straight, everybody in the Dean Dome was on their feet cheering … It was insane.”

Yet, a few people did leave, and the players took notice of their absence. Tuesday was Wood’s final home game as a Tar Heel, and he had quite the Senior Night along with fellow upperclassman Quentin Thomas.

During his “senior speech” following the contest, Wood also brought up the Clemson game – and jested about the fans who went home early.

“I especially want to thank the fans that left before the Clemson game (was over),” he said. “I think they’re the ones who left tonight, too. So let’s thank them.”

Wood said that he loves when fans leave early – during UNC’s road games. “But when they leave at home, I’ve got to be brutally honest here – I understand they have to leave early sometimes to beat traffic – if they demand excellence out of us, I’m not saying we should demand it out of them, but … you know?”

And for anyone who doesn’t think that their presence at the end of the game, during scrub time, matters, Wood’s words offer a contradiction.

“When I get in, yeah, it really does mean a lot, because you hear somebody chant your name, and it’s not just one of your friends, it’s somebody in the crowd who’s actually followed you,” he said. “That’s really cool.”

Wood is far from alone among the Tar Heels in caring about the crowd, however.
“You do (notice people leaving),” Hansbrough said. “And my take on it is, I know a lot of people that would love to be at the game that would stay the whole game.

“I mean, I love our fans, but at the same time, they have to realize how fortunate they are to get in the building. And for them to leave the game, especially the Clemson game, they can’t come back in and see what they lost. Because that was a great game in my opinion, and that’s what they get for leaving early.”

But at least they beat the traffic.

Most Recent Comments

why is this even a story...fans (alumni and students both) leave early from EVERY school. i don't think somebody should be put down for leaving a game 5-7 minutes early when their team is up by 15-20...it's their choice, maybe it's because they have other things to do or have to get up early the next morning.

I really believe this is a non-issue for any school involved & often gets blown way out of proportion. I'm a Duke fan and I always leave the games at the under 4:00 timeout if we have what I feel is a comfortable lead. I have my own personal reasons for doing so and so do the other fans who leave early, regardless of the school. It's not a sign of disrespect or team spirit, but a simple personal choice. For those who want to make a mountain out of a mole hill, I say "chill out!"

Lets face the facts. Having good teams and playing poor competition just don't make it for the fans. It don't matter who the good team is. It is boring watching blow outs week after week.

unc70, I got the feeling this was not just about last night's game, but an ongoing theme in Chapel Hill. Carolina fans have gotten spoiled because their teams are so great. In Raleigh, the fans stay to see a win to the end because (a) no lead is too big for State to blow, and (b) wins are rare for us Wolfpackers this year!

Severe thunderstorms last night

You left the game very early or you left in a severe thunder storm either walking to your car or queuing for the buses. The buses have to make several trips each to transport everyone. I was not at the FSU game, but I live nearby, and we discussed whether they were even allowing people to leave the Dean Dome during the worst of the weather.

There were down trees, heavy rain, and high winds as the game was ending. Locals already know this. www.wunderground.com has a an option for their local radar that lets you replay archived radar data (can't find that at wral.com). Go to the local radar for Chapel Hill and there is an option that lets you select a different date.

Yes, people some people leave before the game ends, but I give them respect and assume they have good reasons. I have attended about 500 UNC men's BB games, a good number of the womens over the last 40 years (missed under 10 in CA). I seldom leave early and when I must, I have a very

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