I grew up in NC and altogether lived about half my life there. Most of my family still lives there... even the most ardent UNC fans don't get excited about Tarheel football and never have. Brown made them respectable and it was still, "Ho-hum, when is midnight madness this year?"
I'd mentioned this elsewhere but the b-ball arena is named for Dean Smith. If I understand right, keenan is named for the leader of a white supremicist insurrection over 100 years ago. His descendants became major contributors to UNC and had something to do with the building of the stadium.
I'm not sure you can say Davis built the program at Miami. There was some pretty good recent history. Their records were actually better before he arrived under Erickson (63-9, two NC's). Davis was 51-20 though you'd have to give him most of the credit for the sanctions recovery and early success of Coker. OTOH, Coker's record was even better at 60-15.
It isn't all that easy to win at BC. O'Brien made them winners. Who took a team that was really bad and in four years turned them into consistent 8-10 game winners. He had 3 losing seasons followed by 7 winning seasons after BC had 6 losing seasons in the 10 years prior to him.
Both are good coaches obviously. I just tend to favor guys who win games while looking like football coaches, while not planning their next career move, and without constantly looking for the closest available tv camera.
i live in NC now and have for the past 8 years...and the feeling i get is much like yours. Bball is and probably always will be #1 in tar heel's minds. i don't know that that will ever change.
my only point was, you take the same mind set at a place like TN or FL, but reverse it. both are football schools, right? but both have made significant strides in bball, especially Florida, but wouldn't you say that the support for both bball programs at both of those schools is at an all time high? i don't think anyone at either shcool would trade football championships for bball championships, and that will probably never change, but bball matters now, where it didn't before.
the same could and will be said of UNC football. UNC will always be a bball school. but if they can put a winner on the feild, they'll get support. it's all there...BP called TN bball a "sleeping giant". i sort of feel the same way about the potential at UNC for football.
i'm not out to change mindsets or anything....but the ovrerall ho hum attitude about football can change. it won't take priority, but it can be put on the list. just like bball here. And whith Butch Davis, the guys they currently have and this class coming in, it's setting up for him to do just that. and the timing is good.....most of the league is down right now.
i don't think they will be a perrenial power, but when compared to the likes of GT, MD, NCSU, Clemson, UVA, WF, BC, and Duke, there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to be better than those teams on a consistent basis. the top 3 in the ACC--VT, Miami and FSU will likely in most years be the top 3 teams in the ACC. UNC is one of those teams that should be able to consistently finsih right behind them or maybe ahead of one of them in the conf. every now and then.
that's all i'm saying........UNC football can/will be relevant with what they now have in regards to current players, current recruiting class and current HC.
