Kenan Stadium

[Dojan]

I am a UNCC graduate. My daughter goes to App so I like to follow the App team.

For the App / UNCC game I wore my UNCC shirt as a way to tease my daughter. It was great to see the App fans treat me well and win with respect.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

Also no programs for sale. Heck at least give me a sheet of paper with names, numbers, and vitals.

[appstatealum]

I visited a few tailgates as I had some friends from Charlotte that are casual Tarhole fans come up to the game. Most of the tailgates were friendly, although a few of the younger fans were pretty cocky and talked some trash. It was all in good fun, but their lack of knowledge of CFB was annoying. They disappeared after the game and didn’t call me to come get my leftover beers. Go figure,

The fans around us were fairly cordial, one group shook my hand after the game. My wife and I led some chants in sec 204 and were pretty loud. You could tell it was driving the fans around us nuts. A few fans behind us kept talking trash about our players cramping, it was getting annoying.

[Rekdiver]

My son and I were verbally and physically assaulted as we left. 50 plus year old gentleman blind sided me and tried to choke my 17 year old autistic son. He started the whole thing by turning around and screaming at us with about 2 minutes to go. I have filed a complaint with the police after EMT's checked us out. If UNC police will do nothing, I'll go to social medial and tell everything.

Keep the board posted. We will spread the word.

[mountaineerman]

Wow that’s awful

[AppAlum1]

Here’s a few observations I had from my Keenan experience...

1 - our “small” group of fans were equally as loud as their full fan base. It blew my mind that they only cheered on their defense on 3rd downs. I could barely talk after the game from cheering every single time our defense was on the field. And to no surprise, UNC fans were annoyed with our cheering on our defense.

2 - I feel like they literally have people on the team whose job is to “pump up the crowd.” And by players, I mean hired people dressed in football uniforms because the “players” doing it didn’t look remotely close to athletes and honestly looked just plain silly. The whole pumping up the student section at the beginning of the 4th quarter was a sad site to see. I’d like to think our students don’t need to be instructed by dancing players to get hype...

3 - it was glaringly obvious that UNC fans go to football games simply as a social event, not for the product on the field. Nobody was in a rush to get to their seats before the game or during half time. Simply glad to be there to be seen. Not the kind of atmosphere I want.

4 - lastly, I think many of their fans weren’t too shocked that we beat them. They just don’t have the rich history of football success that breeds an expectation of winning. They’re fair weather fans (as we all knew), so it was another normal day to them yesterday.

The best team won and it was an absolutely blast proving that we have the best football program in the state. It’s a day I’ll never forget (just like the Michigan win) and I’m thankful for each and every App fan that made the trip to make it that much more memorable!!! PRIDE, PASSION, PURPOSE

Excellent post! I could not agree more. The BEST team did win that game.

I could have stomached all that drivel, the things you mention, the UNC fans' apathy, the poor excuse for tailgating BUT FOR the radio announcers we listened to out of the parking lot. As I recall, they blamed the loss on the fact that UNC's best players were either hurt, missed their assigned play, or just plain goofed up. The underlying assumption being that UNC had a better team, and that App. State should have lost. I wanted to call in to their show and point out that NO, IN FACT, THEY DID NOT HAVE THE BETTER TEAM, as measured by the damn scoreboard. Absolutely no credit was given to App State's fine football team. And, Coach Brown was no better in his post game presser. He pretty much threw his players under the bus.

Here is my takeaway from this. UNC has a toxic football culture/tradition, and it will not improve until the administration comes to grips with all of this toxicity. The coaches and the media will have to change their tune. UNC's fans will need an education (pun intended) in the game of football, and how to behave with a touch more class. I have zero confidence these changes will occur. UNC's problem did not occur overnight, and they will not be solved overnight.

That event makes me want to pull for Anyone But Carolina!

Having rained pretty hard on UNC, let me say this. AD Gillen and all Mountaineers should be extremely proud of our fan base for showing up at Keenan Stadium, and showing the Tar Heels what a football tradition is. The team kicked butt and took names, and the fans were LOUD!

Coach Drink said it best. App EXPECTED to win. And, I expect UNC will never change.

Go APPS!

[ASU85Grad]

My son and I were verbally and physically assaulted as we left. 50 plus year old gentleman blind sided me and tried to choke my 17 year old autistic son. He started the whole thing by turning around and screaming at us with about 2 minutes to go. I have filed a complaint with the police after EMT's checked us out. If UNC police will do nothing, I'll go to social medial and tell everything.

Yikes!! Hope y’all are ok!

Thanks, we are fine today

[ASU85Grad]

My son and I were verbally and physically assaulted as we left. 50 plus year old gentleman blind sided me and tried to choke my 17 year old autistic son. He started the whole thing by turning around and screaming at us with about 2 minutes to go. I have filed a complaint with the police after EMT's checked us out. If UNC police will do nothing, I'll go to social medial and tell everything.

Keep the board posted. We will spread the word.

Thank you. I'll let the board know.

[ASU85Grad]

Wow that’s awful

It was not a fun experience

[WXAPP]

ASU85Grad - Don't delay. Take to social now if you want things to move forward.

UNC will never change their toxicity. It was there in the 70s and 80s... it will always be there. Toxicity is a part of their norm, they thrive on it. How ironic.

But, "Bless their hearts.... "

We must never, as a fan base, become like a UNC. We should always welcome all for good passionate competition at The Rock. Always express thanks for fans coming to Boone to support their team. And treat each other with respect.

I'm still hearing from 49'er fans about the lack of civility displayed by some of our fans when they were in town. It's NOT our way, nor should it ever be.

--------------

It was amazing to watch the game with a packed Harvey's, in Huntersville, of App State fans. You could hear our App Folks taking over the crowd noise. It gave you goosebumps. LOVED IT!

[ukappfan]

Here’s a few observations I had from my Keenan experience...

1 - our “small” group of fans were equally as loud as their full fan base. It blew my mind that they only cheered on their defense on 3rd downs. I could barely talk after the game from cheering every single time our defense was on the field. And to no surprise, UNC fans were annoyed with our cheering on our defense.

2 - I feel like they literally have people on the team whose job is to “pump up the crowd.” And by players, I mean hired people dressed in football uniforms because the “players” doing it didn’t look remotely close to athletes and honestly looked just plain silly. The whole pumping up the student section at the beginning of the 4th quarter was a sad site to see. I’d like to think our students don’t need to be instructed by dancing players to get hype...

3 - it was glaringly obvious that UNC fans go to football games simply as a social event, not for the product on the field. Nobody was in a rush to get to their seats before the game or during half time. Simply glad to be there to be seen. Not the kind of atmosphere I want.

4 - lastly, I think many of their fans weren’t too shocked that we beat them. They just don’t have the rich history of football success that breeds an expectation of winning. They’re fair weather fans (as we all knew), so it was another normal day to them yesterday.

The best team won and it was an absolutely blast proving that we have the best football program in the state. It’s a day I’ll never forget (just like the Michigan win) and I’m thankful for each and every App fan that made the trip to make it that much more memorable!!! PRIDE, PASSION, PURPOSE

Excellent post! I could not agree more. The BEST team did win that game.

I could have stomached all that drivel, the things you mention, the UNC fans' apathy, the poor excuse for tailgating BUT FOR the radio announcers we listened to out of the parking lot. As I recall, they blamed the loss on the fact that UNC's best players were either hurt, missed their assigned play, or just plain goofed up. The underlying assumption being that UNC had a better team, and that App. State should have lost. I wanted to call in to their show and point out that NO, IN FACT, THEY DID NOT HAVE THE BETTER TEAM, as measured by the damn scoreboard. Absolutely no credit was given to App State's fine football team. And, Coach Brown was no better in his post game presser. He pretty much threw his players under the bus.

Here is my takeaway from this. UNC has a toxic football culture/tradition, and it will not improve until the administration comes to grips with all of this toxicity. The coaches and the media will have to change their tune. UNC's fans will need an education (pun intended) in the game of football, and how to behave with a touch more class. I have zero confidence these changes will occur. UNC's problem did not occur overnight, and they will not be solved overnight.

That event makes me want to pull for Anyone But Carolina!

Having rained pretty hard on UNC, let me say this. AD Gillen and all Mountaineers should be extremely proud of our fan base for showing up at Keenan Stadium, and showing the Tar Heels what a football tradition is. The team kicked butt and took names, and the fans were LOUD!

Coach Drink said it best. App EXPECTED to win. And, I expect UNC will never change.

Go APPS!

I sat next to an older gentleman on the bus after the game who had a lot of nice things to say about App and the fans. He said he has been to every UNC game since 1960 and has never seen as many fans from the visiting team and no one as loud.

[mountaineerman]

Wow that’s awful

It was not a fun experience

Wow I’m glad your good. Our time was great we were with a group of 8 half and half . I can say for the most part tarheel fans were respectful and courteous but man did they get chippy in the fourth. I was the loudest person there .

[ASU85Grad]

ASU85Grad - Don't delay. Take to social now if you want things to move forward.

UNC will never change their toxicity. It was there in the 70s and 80s... it will always be there. Toxicity is a part of their norm, they thrive on it. How ironic.

But, "Bless their hearts.... "

We must never, as a fan base, become like a UNC. We should always welcome all for good passionate competition at The Rock. Always express thanks for fans coming to Boone to support their team. And treat each other with respect.

I'm still hearing from 49'er fans about the lack of civility displayed by some of our fans when they were in town. It's NOT our way, nor should it ever be.

--------------

It was amazing to watch the game with a packed Harvey's, in Huntersville, of App State fans. You could hear our App Folks taking over the crowd noise. It gave you goosebumps. LOVED IT!

Thanks, I will not. I’m going to call in the morning. If nothing good, I’ll post what happened here first

[Mjohn1988]

I am going to encourage everyone reading this post to take ownership of how we treat our guest when they come to Boone. Yes, they are our guest, we invited them to our house. Welcome them and help them find there way around our town and campus. Offer them a drink and some of what ever your having at your tailgate. If you see or here one of our fellow Mountaineers behaving badly get involved and correct the situation. And after we’ve won the game make sure and wish them a safe trip home.

[SayYesToTheRock]

I sat in the UNC student section with about 20 other App fans. We had lots of good APP--STATE chants going with another block of Apps one section over. It annoyed the hell out of the Baby Blue, who responded with a short-lived TAR--HEELS chant... when they could muster the enthusiasm.

Overall, trash talking occurred, but it never got personal. Some Baby Blue fans harassed us early, but were went silent after Demetrius Taylor's sack + TD, and remained that way for most of the game.

With UNC down 20-7, they chanted "Safety School" at us. (We replied with "Scoreboard" and they piped down). Lots of boos for every App player that went down with injury/cramps, as well.

[Rick83]

I was actually embarrassed by how some App fans treated some Carolina people I was with. I suspect they were drunk but it was not cool. Also, was embarrassed by the way some App students, I believe they were students, treated some UNCC kids badly that were friends that came up for that game as well.
I have no problem with being passionate about our team, but this is a game, it should be a fun thing for all. No reason to be rude and obnoxious, we don't want to become the Tar Heels of the SunBelt where we are hated based on the way our fans act. Let's be hated for winning all the time but not for treating people badly.
Personally, I didn't have any bad experiences with any Tar Heel fans, one older gentleman actually shook my hand and said that App was his second favorite team to follow...after Carolina.
Let's treat people the way we want to be treated regardless of the team that they pull for. Good-natured trash talking is fun, just don't let it get out of hand and cross the line.
Awesome game though and a great win...I'm a little worried about Coastal...hope we don't have a big win hangover. We could be looking at a very special season!! But one game at a time...

[wncapp78]

I’m sure everyone has different experiences. I parked at Friday Center. Used Uber with 2 other Apps and a UNC guy ( none of us knew each other) after learning the shuttle would not start for another hour. We had a great conversation.

I didn’t receive any, not one, negative comment at any course during the day. The only trouble I saw was two App fans about to get into it with each other.

I drove through downtown Chapel Hill/Franklin Street Friday night. It was crowded but startlingly devoid of folks decked out in UNC attire.

After the game I Hopped on the first shuttle bus I saw after the game. I had no clue how I would get back to the Friday center. The shuttle went to the general admin lot. After everyone else got off I asked if this bus went to the Friday center. The bus driver said No, but “I’ll take you on the Friday center” and off we went with only me on the bus! It was crazy but amazingly good customer service.

After the victory on the field and in getting back to my car, I found some other Mountaineers and we enjoyed a victory beer while we waited on traffic to start emptying in the Friday center. After a bit I slapped on my App flags and decals, and seemed everyone was taking turns letting cars get in line. Seemed like equal parts App and UNC In the lot.

Lots of cars on I 40 headed west this morning with APP flags proudly flying.

I am very sad that we seem to have lost finding ways to at least get a pep band to these hugely important games. I understand how important tickets are and the cost of a bus but I truly believe we could manage 50 tickets for a pep band.

[yikas1]

I completely agree about the band. I cannot believe as much money as we got paid to go to this game in state against Carolina we cannot afford to charter buses to drive less than three hours from Boone with a pep band and fifty tickets

[appstatealum]

My wife and I ended up at Might As Well Pub in Franklin St last night. The owner let my wife order a burger after the grill was shut down and the staff were awesome. The bar was about 40-60 App to Unc, but everyone was getting along nicely. The place turned into a night club around 11p and got packed. Tons of Apps were there and after the mound of wings and beer, I decided I was too old to stick around.

[appstatealum]

I completely agree about the band. I cannot believe as much money as we got paid to go to this game in state against Carolina we cannot afford to charter buses to drive less than three hours from Boone with a pep band and fifty tickets

Game was sold out (as far as Apps were concerned) and there was a huge demand for tickets. App did many a favor by letting fans get first dibs.