Lastnight was a major athletic event on campus: the Wake Forest vs. Carolina game. It is usually one of the two biggest games of the year (the other is Duke). There is a long rivalry between our schools.  For alumni who graduated in the early 90s and before, Carolina tends to be the more bitter foe; for current students and the younger alumni, they tend to dislike Duke more.  Let me digress for a bit of history.

Wake Forest, as the smallest of the Big Four schools in NC (and one of the very smallest NCAA Division I schools), has always had a little chip on our shoulder.  Other teams and pundits alike have looked at us like “little ol’ Wake Forest” – like, how can they compete? they are so small. – and Wake Foresters wear that like a badge of honor.  Don’t underestimate us, we think, we  might surprise you. And many times we have.

Alas, not lastnight.  We played a very solid first half, even being tied at a point.  Went into halftime only down a handful of points.  The second half, however, was rough.  Our boys played very hard, and I commend each and every one of them for giving it their all.  As my dear friend and seatmate at the Joel said “Carolina was beatable lastnight, just not by us.”  She was right.

This game was one of the first in ages where our student section showed up in any significant numbers.  Welcome back, students!  It was good to have you there again.  Bring that same energy to every game, please!

And so on the morning after, when we all feel a bit sad that our team didn’t prevail, I want to state for the record that a true Wake Forest fan is always loyal.  We do not give up on our team.  We stay to the end, we root hard.  We know there are rough patches that teams go through (and believe me, I have seen some).  But we stick with our team.

I feel a strange need to add a little music to today’s blog in honor of our Deacs. Remember the Shirelles, Deac families? This is a classic, and sums up how I feel. Yes, Deacs, I will still love you tomorrow.  And every day thereafter.

Recent Posts

Archives