Followers of Carolina Athletics might be excused for being somewhat distracted over recent months.  A lingering unpleasantness has hung like an Arctic Winter over Franklin Street broken only by a darn fine Fall showing by The Fighting Fedorians.   I’m here to report a sinister plot afoot…. but first:
 
Fueled by Gio Bernard, the finest Florida export since grapefruit, the debut of The Fedora Era has to have exceeded the expectations of all but the most cynical of Kenan loyalists.  At 5-2 with convincing Ws over Virginia Tech and Miami (yes, convincing) and easy Ws over teams that should be easy Ws…. the Fighting Fedorians are two No-Gio squeakers from being 7-0.   Hip Hip Hooray – We Love Larry! 
 
Wait a minute, BobLee…. you called that nail biter in Sun Life/Landshark/Pro Player / Joe Robbie Stadium a “convincing win”???  18-14 is “convincing”? 
 
Yes I do.  The Tar Heels beat the Hurricanes “convincingly”.   But beat themselves even more convincingly.  The ‘Canes couldn’t stop us.  We stopped ourselves.  Had this been a basketball game, 15 of the starting 22 would have fouled out.   The ‘Canes were shooting one & ones halfway thru the second quarter.
 
You just know the titular head of Team Fedora had some ripe words for the youngsters during the Sunday film recap.  Ouch!
 
To shoot yourself in the foot that often AND STILL WIN is how the big boys do it.  Win when maybe you don’t deserve to.  
 
Back-to-back backyard rivalries await the white-helmeted warriors.   This week’s quick trip down 15-501 to Wally Wade World should see the Tar Heels return to the high-octane offense our fans are already spoiled for. 
 
Then…. it will be THE MOST IMPORTANT game within a 15-mile radius of downtown Morrisville.  Does Morrisville even have a “downtown”?  But we can talk about such matters at a later date.
 
Meanwhile Bubba The Real AD is up to something.  Art and I stumbled on Bubba’s sinister plot quite by accident.  Our special guest on The Good Sports this past Saturday was Paul Pogge (POE-gee).   Paul is “one of the new guys” that Bubba has added to TeamBubba.   Paul is Associate Athletic Director working with, among other things, compliance.
 
If you want to know what “a compliance guy” does you have to listen to our show which you should be doing any way….. two hours before every Tar Heel kick-off on WCHL 97.9 FM.   Franklin Street old timers are calling The Good Sports – “as good as those Port Hole rolls”.  That’s darn high praise indeed.
 
Anyhow….. Paul Pogge is a very fine compliance guy….. but GUESS WHAT?
 
Paul is “a Golden Domer”.  That’s what Notre Dame graduates call themselves if UNC grads call themselves “Old Wellers”.  So what…. you say?
 
Until the arrival of Bubba The Real AD, UNC’s athletic department suffered from a serious case of in-breeding. If you didn’t bleed blue you didn’t work for the previous AD.  John Montgomery – Executive Director of The Rams Club – was the very rare exception.  John has been heading The Rams Club for ten years and is still referred to as “that new guy not from around here”.   Then came Bubba The Real AD.
 
Now we have new fresh faces with new fresh ideas mixing with the in-breeds.   It’s a good thing combining the best of both old and new.   You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water but, gee whiz, you do need to change that bath water once in a while.
 
Long time Asst AD Larry Gallo was, like Montgomery, also an “outsider”.  Larry also is/was a “Golden Domer”.  That makes THREE.  Yes, three because Bubba his own self is one too.  
 
Will we soon be ditching those beautiful new white helmets for gold ones?  We already had “a grotto” – aka “The Rat”.   Surely we have echoes we can wake up.  So to my title question……
 
Will there soon be a Golden Dome atop The Old Well? At least Notre Dame’s in the ACC, sort of.
 

Just so’s you know, Cunningham….. The Good Sports have our eye on you.  

More of BobLee at www.bobleesays.com