John Nieman
As much as I come off in this space as being an old guy sitting on his porch complaining about the kids, I do appreciate and enjoy and utilize the new technology that we have now, particularly with regards to sports viewing. I mean, if I want to, I can watch High Point University lacrosse on ESPN Plus. I have my pick of any European soccer match.
I come from a time when it was a big deal when the UNC basketball team was going to have a televised game to now where virtually every UNC sports team has games available live on TV.
As far as technology goes, I have just discovered split-screen viewing. If ever anyone had a doubt as to the difference in actual action between a soccer match and a football game, I invite them to do a split screen on a soccer match and football game. This past weekend, I was watching Everton versus Tottenham Hotspur on one side and UNC football on the other. The soccer match ended in a 0-0 draw and the football game ended 35 to 3. There was actually no comparison in the slogging, commercial filled, play-stopped action of the football game to the non-stop action of a comparatively mild soccer match.
And it wasn’t that much of a soccer match. When the football game was paused because of the weather I could not discern a difference in the amount of action.
But turning to UNC football, they are thankfully now 2 and 0. I guess the only question is whether TCU and East Tennessee State are true tests of a Division 1 football team’s ability. I’m sure we’ll find that out next weekend versus a weak but perennially-strong Clemson team. At Clemson. What little I can remember about football causes me to think that a lot of UNC’s current football success may likely have been dependent on the penalty-prone opponents, but Hope Springs Eternal.
I have recently, at the behest of son Jeff and daughter-in-law Stephanie, been trying to rekindle my UNC fandom. Thankfully, grandchildren Burke and Larkin accept me as I am. Burke even makes a point of asking about the latest soccer news.
But it has been very difficult. Since the 1960s, when I began my UNC Journey, basketball has been Dean Smith and his progeny. The Carolina Way. That direct line has now ended.
UNC football was always pretty much merely an opportunity for everyone to get together and prepare for basketball season. At least women’s soccer and lacrosse remain steadfastly Carolina, but it does make one feel pretty old to see games being played in stadia named after your contemporaries.
And now we have the situation where football at UNC is expected to be top class. UNC hired a man who has been called arguably the greatest football coach of all time. And yet what we have experienced is just a lot of drama. Something that Dean Smith’s Carolina could not abide. Exactly what is the Carolina Way in 2026?
But who am I to complain? I watched the East Tennessee State game. First time I’ve watched a football game in years. Even if it was on a split screen. And I am truly hopeful that these first two results had some relation to the improvement and abilities of the UNC football team and not merely the quality or lack thereof of the opponent. I never was much of a Bill Belichick–Tom Brady–New England Patriots fan, but I don’t relish seeing an accomplished professional’s career come to a close with embarrassment and derision.
And I’m trying to decide whether it’s better that we’re talking about the coach’s son’s alleged drug problems as opposed to the coach’s young cheerleader girlfriend.
While all of that stuff is entertaining I have to admit, it would really be kind of cool to be in discussion about Belichick’s UNC football program Rising like the Phoenix to contend for the ACC Championship.
Don’t sound much like an old guy on the porch complaining about the kids now, do I?
The 60 lb. weight loss has certainly made a difference in my day-to-day getting around. It is really quite remarkable. But it hasn’t made much of a difference in my ability to play with my wonderful Dynamo teammates. Still a second and a half too slow to react and still trying to find that knee snap to be able to kick a ball with any force, but they still let me play. One of the many reasons I’m the luckiest guy in the world.
And Martha and I almost look like a couple who belong together for the first time in decades.
Fat Boy Index: 229.