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The Real ACC Tournament Friday

LilburnDeac

LilburnDeac

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Growing up in NC in the late 70's, 80's and 90's, quarterfinal Friday was like a holiday. I remember in Jr High and High School, the cool teachers would roll in a TV so we could watch the games. At the time we just thought they were being nice, now I realize that they wanted to watch the games just as much as we did.I remember cutting class in 1987 to watch the tournament at home and finding my dad already there, having skipped out of work. I thought I might get in trouble but he just said he was glad to have someone to watch it with.

There was just something magical about the whole weekend. The conference screwed around with it in the late 90's when they had the #1 seed play the #9 seed in the first round with the winner getting a Bye into the Semifinals but that only lasted a few years. The last "real" ACC Tourney was in 2004. Once the conference expanded, the magic of the tourney seemed to disappear.

I miss it.
 
2004 was a great one (well aside from the usual Wake disappointment). I'll always remember Jarrett Jack hitting a dagger at the horn to send the cheats packing.
 
Skipped school in 1987 to watch it(including weight lifting which was mandatory for football players) and the football coach got wind of it and grilled us until he found out every single person who skipped. The next week, we lifted no weights at all, just ran our asses into the ground. Still worth it!
 
My dad would let me miss school, we would go get a K&W breakfast and then drive to Greensboro or Charlotte and watch all 4 games. We’d usually get bbq at intermission. Better than Christmas.
 
LilburnDeac said:
Growing up in NC in the late 70's, 80's and 90's, quarterfinal Friday was like a holiday. I remember in Jr High and High School, the cool teachers would roll in a TV so we could watch the games. At the time we just thought they were being nice, now I realize that they wanted to watch the games just as much as we did.I remember cutting class in 1987 to watch the tournament at home and finding my dad already there, having skipped out of work. I thought I might get in trouble but he just said he was glad to have someone to watch it with.

There was just something magical about the whole weekend. The conference screwed around with it in the late 90's when they had the #1 seed play the #9 seed in the first round with the winner getting a Bye into the Semifinals but that only lasted a few years. The last "real" ACC Tourney was in 2004. Once the conference expanded, the magic of the tourney seemed to disappear.

I miss it.
Click to expand...

Those times were the best!
 
Fun times. Planned my entire week around the tournament. This week, I've watched the Wake game and 10 minutes of the UNC game. The "magic" has all but disappeared.
 
Great times! :thumbsup:

Played trumpet in the basketball pep band at the ACCT's in the mid '80's when we were good with the likes of Teachey, Rudd, Young, etc. Gentleman Carl at the helm.
 
MHBDemon said:
My dad would let me miss school, we would go get a K&W breakfast and then drive to Greensboro or Charlotte and watch all 4 games. We’d usually get bbq at intermission. Better than Christmas.
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Awesome memory.
 
ACC tournament is of little interest to me now. I still hope that at some point with the oversaturation of televised sports and declining ratings, conferences like the ACC will convert to a business model with fewer teams and a highly regional focus, and an emphasis on in-person attendance/experience and traditional rivalries (as it was for over 50 years).
 
They've ruined the tournament as far as I'm concerned. ACC tournament Friday used to be one of the best days of the year as far as I'm concerned. Sneaking your walkman (dating myself) into school, running the earplug (ear bub for young'uns) up your sleeve so you could listen in class by resting your head on in your hand. Of course you had the "cool" teachers that would actually let you watch. The night session where sometimes the 9pm 3 vs. 6 seed might go until midnight if there was OT. Hell, now I hardly even know when the games are played. Us sucking hasn't helped that of course, but still it's just not as special as it used to be.
 
No need to sneak a Walkman in for me. Not just because they didn't exist quite yet but the teachers would roll a tv into the class for all to watch. There was a very good article about this a few years ago, maybe I'll look for it.
 
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So will the winner be by default or by actually playing?
 
family ACCT story: in the final minute of Wake-GT in 96 in Greensboro, my five-year old brother told my dad he had to go to the bathroom and dad said you gotta hold it

a few plays later it's the last 20 or 30 seconds and he said he had to go bad, so when GT calls TO before Marburry's final shot, dad ran brother to the bathroom and threw him in front of the urinal and yelled "go!" and we got there and back in time for the last play

same brother also got lost -- maybe even that same day -- in the crowd exiting an ACCT game and he ran into some family friends who put him on their shoulders til we found them
 
Anyone know somewhere you could find all the old t-shirt designs through the years?
 
Give me the eight teams of the 70's not the mega conference we are now. I hate to sound like a geezer, but those were the days.
 
JuiceCrewAllStar said:
family ACCT story: in the final minute of Wake-GT in 96 in Greensboro, my five-year old brother told my dad he had to go to the bathroom and dad said you gotta hold it

a few plays later it's the last 20 or 30 seconds and he said he had to go bad, so when GT calls TO before Marburry's final shot, dad ran brother to the bathroom and threw him in front of the urinal and yelled "go!" and we got there and back in time for the last play

same brother also got lost -- maybe even that same day -- in the crowd exiting an ACCT game and he ran into some family friends who put him on their shoulders til we found them
Click to expand...

Impressive piece of Dadsmanship right there
 
Heck, give me the 9 teams of the 90s.

I always have to remind myself that we might not be in the ACC without the P5 conference expansion. I'd rather be a bottom dweller in the ACC than a conference champion in the MEAC
 
JuiceCrewAllStar said:
family ACCT story: in the final minute of Wake-GT in 96 in Greensboro, my five-year old brother told my dad he had to go to the bathroom and dad said you gotta hold it

a few plays later it's the last 20 or 30 seconds and he said he had to go bad, so when GT calls TO before Marburry's final shot, dad ran brother to the bathroom and threw him in front of the urinal and yelled "go!" and we got there and back in time for the last play

same brother also got lost -- maybe even that same day -- in the crowd exiting an ACCT game and he ran into some family friends who put him on their shoulders til we found them
Click to expand...

I was at the game, seats on the side near the GT basket. A group of GT football players were seated near us, and one guy, the entire game, hollered "c'mon Big Steph...take us to the Final Four baybeee!!!". I was so happy when "Big Steph" missed that final shot, mostly so fb guy finally shut the hell up.
 
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