Chapel Hill Stores Prepare For Final Four With Voodoo And Graffiti

Every time UNC wins a basketball game this time of year, local retailers see a rush of customers looking to buy the latest merchandise, but Johnny T Shirt division retail manager Cameron Gunn said some have higher hopes.

“We have some customers come in and they seem like they want to tempt fate,” she said. “So they come in and say ‘oh I’m going to wait until Monday.’ Okay, I’m just going to find a wood source and just knock.”

Monday is the date of the NCAA National Championship Game, featuring two teams that are yet to be determined.

Ken Jackson, who owns Wentworth and Sloan and Carolina Corner, has been in business in Chapel Hill since 1968. He said this is always a superstitious time of year.

“You see all these things,” he said. “All this voodoo comes out of the closet when it’s this close to the Final Four. All of those, you know, I wear the same pair of socks, I don’t ever take a shower before the game.”

Jackson opened Carolina Corner in University Place after the closure of Roses left a void for those wanting UNC gear without having to enter the fray of Franklin St.

But for those closer to the heart of the action, Gunn said they will be taking precaution this weekend, especially if UNC wins Saturday.

“We actually board the windows just to take care of the store,” she said. “We have these wooden boards at the warehouse and I think some of them have graffiti on them from the 1993 win.”

She said the store hasn’t experienced any physical damage, and to those who hoped to vandalize Franklin St., it turns out they were more useful than they might have thought.

“I’ve just heard (the boards) have graffiti and it helps because you have to piece them together,” she said. “So the graffiti helps.”

But even owners have their superstitions. Jackson said he didn’t want to talk about the Tar Heels playing on Monday, but that doesn’t mean he’s not preparing shirts all the same.

“I’m going to pull that voodoo out of my closet now,” he said. “But if all things go well on Monday, we’ll have them Tuesday morning.”