North Carolina State University Athletics
Behind the Scenes With Tony Haynes: Headline Hype
9/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Sept. 14, 2002
By Tony Haynes
It was over before you knew it. Yet another college football season ended over the weekend and as usual, the sport provided us with memories that will last a lifetime. It ended with Texas knocking off North Carolina in the national championship game. The monkey is now off of Mack Brown's back: Who says he can't win the big one? And UNC has nothing to be ashamed of. Although they didn't win it all, the Heels can be proud of the fact that they kept fighting back against a powerhouse opponent.
What's that you say? Texas' game at North Carolina wasn't for the national championship? You sure could have fooled me. When I opened up my morning paper on Saturday, there was wall-to-wall coverage of "The Game of the Century." There on page 1-A, right beside an update on the war on terror, was an above-the-fold story on Brown. After enduring two weeks worth of front-page stories on Miss. North Carolina, we finally got something different: an in-depth look at Mr. Texas.
The first thing I noticed upon flipping to the sports section was a front page column about.... guess who? I never dreamed I'd know this much about Mack Brown, although I am disappointed that there was no mention of his blood type. An excusable omission, I guess.
For whatever reason, the newspaper couldn't confirm rumors that Brown actually walked across Jordan Lake on his way to Kenan Stadium.
Next to the column on Mr. Texas was the obligatory game preview that included mammoth pictures of the championship game quarterbacks. Durant VS. Simms! I hadn't seen anything so bold since Ali and Frazier posed nose-to-nose prior to the 'Thrilla in Manila.'
After reading every single word, I was ready to throw on some sweats, pop up some of Orville Redenbacher's best and watch the title tilt uninterrupted. "Oh shoot," I thought. "I can't watch this game."
It was at that moment when I remembered that NC State was hosting Wake Forest in the ACC opener for both teams. Under contract and obligated, it was my duty to broadcast a game that apparently didn't mean very much. When you think about it, who really cares about conference games when you can see old Mack making another memorable stroll through Blue Heaven?
But as I headed out the door, the realization hit me: "That game over in Chapel Hill is probably a pay-per-view event anyway," I rationalized. Being tighter than a clam with lockjaw, there was really no way I was going to shell out big bucks to watch a football game, even if it meant missing coach Brown's triumphant return to his Kenan Kingdome.
Incredibly, more than 50,000 fans showed up to watch the Wolfpack beat the Deacons. There was also a good crowd down in Death Valley, where Clemson edged Georgia Tech in a very competitive ACC contest. There were other games of importance, after all. And heck, the match-up between Texas and UNC was on free TV. Imagine that?
Oh well, I better go back to my Saturday morning paper. I'm sure there's a special section tucked in there somewhere. There's got to be something I still don't know about Mack Brown.
