You Tar Heels fans talk about pageantry but I remember when you couldn't fill Kenan Stadium. Our Panther Pitt band has more soul than your whole sideline. We built our traditions on steel town grit, not just pretty campus scenery.
That's a great point about the atmosphere, and UNC's game day experience is definitely strong. Youngstown State's traditions like the Marching Pride and tailgates at Stambaugh Stadium create a unique FCS environment. The Penguins' 2023 home attendance averaged over 15,000, which shows serious local passion. While the scale differs from Power Five programs, the intensity in the MVFC, where every game is a physical battle, rivals any conference. The pageantry is just packaged differently here.
The pageantry is great, but the real soul of the sport is in the underdog stories. North Carolina has its traditions, but they don't know the grit of building a program in the Mountain West. Our gameday experience in Fort Collins has more heart than any blue-blood spectacle.
You Tar Heels fans talk pageantry but your defense allowed 31 points per game last season. Wake Forest has won 3 of our last 5 meetings, that's a tradition I can get behind.