What it’s like taking a five-year-old to her first Carolina basketball game
‘Marcus Paige has my middle name!’
When my niece Kora was little, we must’ve watched Frozen 1,000 times. It was free babysitting and pretty much the only way to get her to sit still.
But I think we’ve found Frozen’s replacement: Carolina basketball.
For Christmas, my brother took 5-year-old Kora to her very first UNC game. I got to tag along, and it was one of the best games ever.
But we didn’t just go to the game – Kora wanted the whole Tar Heel experience.
For the first stop, we went to Time Out on Franklin St. Kora had been before, but this time she wanted to get the famous chicken and cheddar biscuit.
She repeated “Dean Dome” over and over the whole way to the arena. Kora didn’t stop chanting until we were inside the dome.
Once the game started, she was quick to point out the defense.
She said: “They’re not staying in the box. They can’t do that.” In her children’s league, the defense can’t leave the lane.
“Does this game last as long here as it does on TV?”
This is about 10 minutes into the game, and I get worried she’ll get bored and want to leave. That didn’t happen. She asked if we could leave with about four minutes left, and we said we don’t leave until the end of the game.
Her dad asked: “Do you want to go home or stay and have fun?”
“I want to stay and have fun.”