Campus Voice
3.232011 I The Blue Banner I 15
The Blue Banner’s View
NCAA win finally brought the Bulldog nation together
We don’t have a football team. We
don’t have a homecoming concert. We
don’t have a marching band. Until last
week, we didn’t have any school spirit.
There were no viewing parties
for regular season away games. No
students skipped classes to watch the
Bulldogs play. No professors cut their
classes short for a 3:10 p.m. tipoff.
Even when the men’s basketball team
started their season with an unexpected
upset against the Auburn Tigers, most
regarded the overtime win as a fluke
rather than an epic David and Goliath
story on a basketball court.
This win against the Southeastern
Conference team was the first time the
Bulldogs won their opening game on
the road since 1978. It was also the end
of a 14-game non-conference losing
streak on the road since the 2007-08
season.
However, there was no grand home
coming.
No students waited for the bus to
come driving down University Heights.
The Chancellor did not stand clapping
with students and fellow administrators
to welcome the triumphant Bulldogs
back to Asheville. The remaining home
"It took some buzzer-beating 3-pointers
from junior guard Matt Dickey for students to
even notice their own basketball team."
games didn’t sell out. The basketball
season continued with its normal fan
base: a lightly filled student section at
home games and a generally apathetic
campus.
It took some buzzer-beating 3-point
ers from junior guard Matt Dickey
for students to even notice their own
basketball team.
His 3-pointer against Coastal Caro
lina on Feb. 22 received attention on
ESPN’s “Play of the Day,” “Sports
Center” and “First Take.” In the March
15 play-in game against the University
of Arkansas at Little Rock, Dickey sank
the 3-pointer with a little more than 10
seconds to go in regulation play that
sent the Bulldogs into the overtime win
to advance in the NCAA tournament.
But Dickey was not the only one
working hard on the court this season.
Senior forward John Williams led
the Bulldogs in blocks, making 46 of
the Bulldogs’ 152 blocks this season.
Junior guard J.P. Primm led the team
in steals by getting the ball back for
the Bulldogs 71 times. Sophomore
center D.J. Cunningham led the team in
offensive rebounds, with a total of 61
rebounds.
But this isn’t about statistics. It’s
about spirit.
In addition to the men’s basketball
team making an excellent showing at
the NCAA tournament, there have been
plenty of other reasons for the Bulldog
nation to stand up and cheer.
Junior goalie Lassi Hurskainen
kicked his way into YouTube stardom.
The baseball team had a 3-0 start to
the season for the first time since 1993.
Kendall Sheppard, a senior guard on
the women’s basketball team, scored
the game-winning 3-point shot against
Campbell University.
Maybe it’s because we didn’t see it
coming, but March Madness infected
our university with some much needed
Bulldog pride.
We sat close together, huddled in
the student union as we watched our
basketball team show the nation how
powerful a small school could be on the
basketball court.
We boarded a bus at 3 a.m. and
dished out $80 to support our team play
against the No. 1 seed in our bracket.
We cheered loudly for our Bulldogs,
whether we were in D.C. for the game,
or were watching it at Pack’s Tavern.
We knew even when we lost to Pitts
burgh that we played like we belonged,
with a passion and a love for the game.
We stood waiting for the bus that
took our men’s basketball team to the
NCAA tournament to come back to
UNC Asheville at 11:30 a.m.
And, with our UNC A shirts and
hand-made signs, we welcomed our
team back to our university with cheers
and pride.
Everyone loves an underdog story,
but perhaps what we really needed all
these years was one we could claim as
our own.
We needed a Bulldog story.
The Blue Banner Editorial Board
Karpen Hall 019 (828) 251
Ashleigh Joyner, Editor-in-Chief
amjoyner@unca.edu
Caitlin Byrd, Managing Editor
mcbyrd @ unca .edu
Katherine Walker, News Editor
kpwalker @ unca .edu
Hali Ledford, Arts & Features Editor
hdledfor@unca.edu
Natalie Pearson, Sports Editor
ngpearso@unca.edu
Megan Dombroski, Campus Voice Editor
mkdombro® unca .edu
Katie Saylors, Photography Editor
ksaylors@unca.edu
-6586 WWW. thebluebanner. net
Jacob Yancey, Business Manager
jayancey@unca.edu
Jordan Paris, Design & Web Editor
aparis@unca.edu
Alex Hammond, Copy Desk Chief
rahammon @ unca.edu
Trevor Metcalfe, Assistant News Editor
temetcal @ unca .edu
Auburn Petty, Assistant Arts & Features Editor
alpetty@unca.edu
Dustin Stuart, Assistant Photography Editor
destuart@unca.edu
Alicia Adcox, Assistant Campus Voice Editor
aradcox @unca .edu
Michael Gouge, Faculty Adviser
mgouge@unca.edu
Have a news tip?
send to amjoyner@unca.edu
The Blue Banner is UNC
Asheville’s student newspaper.
We publish each Wednesday
except during summer sessions,
finals week and holiday breaks.
Dur office is located in Karpen
Hall 019.
The Blue Banner is a desig
nated forum for free speech and
welcomes letters to the editor,
considering them on basis of
interest, space and timeliness.
Letters and articles should be
emailed to the editor-in-chief or
the appropriate section editor.
Letters should include the
writer’s name, year in school,
and major or other relationship
to UNCA. Include a telephone
number to aid in verification. All
articles are subject to editing.