[The Poet]

If I had to pick just one, I'd go with the 1982 NCAA men's basketball championship game. Not only was it a great contest between UNC and Georgetown, it finally gave Dean Smith his first crown in his 7th trip to the Final Four.

As an indication of the way this impacted me, my reaction was more one of stunned silence than joyous celebration. I didn't know what to say, to feel, to even think until the next day, so unreal it felt to me. The following cover of Sports Illustrated (which is framed and hanging above my bed) summed it up perfectly by declaring "Finally, it's Carolina!" . . . in sky-blue letters, of course.