Saturday, February 7th: What were you doing?
Were you watching as a former Duke player started a “TAR HEELS” chant in the Dean Smith Center? Later in the day, were you watching one of the greatest moments of your life unfold in front of your eyes? Or was your situation similar to mine—forced to miss the second half of your favorite team playing a hated rival due to your own poor planning?
This is the story of where I was the night Seth Trimble hit the biggest shot of his life.
The Conflict
This all started a little under a month prior, when my Bible study leader (Love you, Lynn) invited the high school juniors and seniors to a retreat in Myrtle Beach, SC, called Converge. I was pumped to go because she told me how much fun it was. After texting my mom, she said, “I could go,” and I immediately signed up.
Fast forward to Saturday, February 1st. I was on my phone talking to my dad about watching the game the following week. Dad then said, “Dude, you won’t be here.” My body nearly shut down. My dad introduced a rule about two years ago: as a family, we never watch Carolina-Duke around people who aren’t Merediths or my future wife. This would have to be an exception, unless I could convince Mrs. Lynn to do something she might consider evil: skip Jesus to watch a team literally named after Satan. (No hate, Duke fans—just speaking truth!)
The “Foolproof” Plan
On Wednesday, I walked into her house with full confidence. “No,” she said sternly. After thinking deeply for the rest of my waking hours that night and into Thursday morning, I decided I would still go and just DVR the game to watch after the night’s worship service.
It seemed like a perfect plan. My plan was simple: I’d watch until my 7:45 PM cutoff, then DVR the rest to finish after the service. I alerted my family text group that I was “not watching the game live,” and I planned to avoid Facebook and social media to prevent spoilers. A foolproof plan.
Game Day
While sitting in our hotel room, Lynn tried her best to explain to one of the girls how important this rivalry was. In my opinion, her explanation was still about half a solar system too short, but for someone with no rooting interest, she did a great job. Still, I watched in horror as the Devils went on a run.
Right before the Tar Heels’ major comeback to end the first half, I reached my breaking point. A man kept standing up to have what—in my extremely biased opinion—was a useless side conversation. It was likely just logistics for our 8:00 PM worship departure, but because he kept blocking the TV, I stood up and watched the game from five feet away.
Thankfully, the only other Tar Heel fan in the room could still see. I’m taking credit for that scoring run. To quote Woody Durham: “Go where you go and do what you do.”
The Spoiler
Unfortunately, due to the schedule, we had to leave. I turned off the game on my phone with about eight minutes left in the second half just as the first worship song began. I tried my hardest not to think about the score and focus on the service. It was hard, but not impossible.
Then, remember that “foolproof plan”?
At 8:30 PM sharp, my phone buzzed. I thought it was my mom telling me, “I hope you remained calm while watching the game with your friends.” (Sidenote: I stayed calm by my standards, not necessarily theirs).
The text wasn’t from Mom. It was from my old Edgewood Middle School basketball coach. For the first time in our entire text history, he messaged me first to reveal the result: “HEELS ! Great game, Ben!”
I couldn’t help it. I said aloud in church, “Dangit, Floyd!”—loud enough for the people beside me to notice. Overwhelmed by emotion, I stepped outside to use the restroom. A man offered his hand and said, “Good Game.” I then went and found Mrs. Stacy, the other Tar Heel fan, and hugged her, shouting, “Go Heels!!”
The Aftermath
I eventually watched the remainder of the game. It turns out watching a rivalry game when you already know you won is actually a lot of fun and much less stressful! I watched the shot by Seth Trimble, did a little “dancy dance,” and called my grandmother (who I know is reading this).
That was my reaction to one of the greatest shots of my lifetime. Hope you all enjoyed the ride!
