Oct. 10, 2001

"Ladies, for us to have a winning season we can't just be involved, we have to be COMMITTED! Do all of you understand the difference between involvement and commitment?"

We all looked up at Coach and shook our heads no. We were only 12 years old and this was our first football practice of the year, so it seemed okay not to know.

"Well, I'll tell you the difference," Coach said. "You take a plate of bacon and eggs. Now the chicken, he is involved, but that pig, he is COMMITTED!"

The University of North Carolina has a head coach who is committed. His staff is committed. So are the players. They are committed to bringing consistent excellence to Tar Heel football and you can't believe how hard they are working towards that goal.

But are Carolina fans willing to make the commitment?

There was way too much purple in Kenan on Saturday. Way, way, way too much. How did it get there? How did so many Pirate fans end up in the choice seats between the 40 yard lines on the home side of the stadium? Where was the much needed 12th man? When Carolina plays at Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium in Greenville on October 11th, 2003, what are the chances that a couple of thousand extra Tar Heel fans will be able to buy mid-field seats from members of the Pirate Club?

The cold, hard truth is that Carolina didn't box out. Behind every swatch of purple occupying a high quality seat was a Tar Heel fan who not only didn't come to the game him or herself but who sold those tickets to an ECU supporter. Why in the blue hell would any card-carrying, dues-paying member of the Educational Foundation do that?

THEORY ONE: CAROLINA FANS ARE TOO NICE. "Oh, you poor purple people say you have always wanted to see a game in our beautiful stadium? You're in luck! See, that is a late afternoon game and won't be over til almost dark so we probably won't go. And the traffic around the stadium can be a mess, so here, you all go as our guests!"

THEORY TWO: CAROLINA FANS ARE TOO WELL-ADJUSTED. The University does such a good job educating young men and women that they leave here with their danged priorities all in order. They spend time with family. They give to charity. They contribute to society. They have hobbies and interests outside of athletics, you see, and certainly don't need to sit in a yucky old misty rain when the temperature is below 72 in order to validate their support of the team. They gave the money to buy the tickets. Isn't that enough?

THEORY THREE: OKAY, SO I SOLD MY TICKETS TO A PIRATE FRIEND OF MINE. WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH THAT?

Absolutely nothing whatsoever, as long as an occasional trip to the Gator, Peach or the Seattle Bowl is your idea of a successful football program.

But John Bunting wants to aim higher than that and he needs help.

He needs all Carolina fans to know how important they are to what he is trying to do. He needs them to have the savvy not to boo his senior quarterback and UNC's all-time total offense leader while recruits and their families are visiting. He needs them at the stadium early, tailgating, with beverages safely in their cups. He needs them at the Bell Tower Walk and at the new Tar Heel Town. And he needs them to be feisty enough to take a match and burn those expensive tickets rather than let them fall into enemy hands.

What kind of football program do you want to have?