Students empty pockets, fill gas tanks to make it to Houston

The Tar Heels made it to Houston for the NCAA Final Four, but now it’s the students’ turn to get there.

As of Tuesday evening, the ticket office had sold about 630 of the 700 student tickets it put on sale Monday morning. For $40, students got a ticket for the UNC-Syracuse game, and if UNC wins, each student automatically gets a ticket to the championship game, said Gerry Lajoie, senior assistant athletic director of ticket operations.

The students who got tickets jumped the first hurdle, now they have to get to Houston.

Sophomore Jenna Hall and her friends started a GoFundMe page to cover the cost of traveling to and staying in Houston and were surprised to reach their goal of $1,000.

“We didn’t expect to raise more than $100, maybe $150, just from small donations,” Hall said.

Senior Tory Waters originally decided the drive was too far to buy tickets, but she said after discovering the ticket would also get her into the championship game if UNC were to win, she changed her mind, and would regret it if she didn’t go.

“No matter the outcome, it will be a crazy experience being with so many UNC fans, in a completely different city, cheering on our team and being so close to everything,” Waters said.

Senior Taylor Sharp said he bought plane tickets to Houston in September for this game because his confidence in the team was so high.

Sharp had a tradition to uphold, as he has never missed a tournament game since becoming a UNC student.

“At that moment, we realized no matter where the Tar Heels go for an NCAA Tournament, if there is a ticket there for us, we’ll figure out a way to get there,” Sharp said.

For junior Chloe Karlovich, basketball sparked her interest in UNC.

“I’m a tour guide, and so all the time I’m talking about why I chose Carolina, how I got to this point, and for me it was that basketball game where Tyler Hansbrough got the bloody nose,” Karlovich said.

Karlovich and her friends bought plane tickets, found a place to stay through a friend’s cousin and rescheduled a presentation.

“To go to the Final Four, that is just my dream. That’s part of why I’m here,” she said.

Carolina Fever co-chairperson Laura Fellwock said the group is a proponent of traveling to Houston.

“Your love for Carolina, our love for Carolina extends beyond just Chapel Hill.”

For students not traveling to Houston, safety during the traditional rush to Franklin Street is a concern for some faculty.

Bruce Cairns, director of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center, said he fears a serious injury in the post-game celebration.

In a celebration of UNC’s last national championship in 2009, then-student Andrew Madlon suffered second and third-degree burns to his right arm after falling into a fire, something Cairns wants to avoid.

“We honor the team and what they’ve accomplished over the years by thinking about this issue and not having our celebration be about anything other than our success, our pride in our institution and our team,” Cairns said.

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