Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
Mack Brown reminds us that football is only a game.
The Carolina coach began his weekly press conference with an informal prayer meeting for all those affected by Hurricane Helene. Brown and his wife Sally have had a home in Linville for years and their feelings are more with them right now.
Brown began, “I want thoughts and prayers for the people in Western North Carolina. We have so many friends up there, and it’s really devastating. They don’t have phone service. They don’t have wifi. Roads are out, trees are down.
“They’re encouraging people not to go to the mountains. People up there can’t get off the mountain. They don’t have food. There’s no water in some of the hospitals. It is totally devastating to think that a storm could do that much damage.”
Mack turned back to football and the 21-20 loss at Duke Saturday night. His team squandered a 20-0 lead in the third quarter, and Brown remained upbeat about a 3-2 season that has not gone as expected.
“We’ve got a really good team and we as coaches haven’t done a good enough job with ’em yet,” he said, a refrain he has used many times over the years. “You come out Saturday and have an even game with two even teams. It’s come down to the last drive in three of the last five years.”
In 2019, Chazz Surrat’s dramatic interception at the goal line brought the Victory Bell back to Chapel Hill after three years in Durham. In 2022, Drake Maye hit Antoine Green in the end zone to win the game on their final possession. And last season, the Heels survived two overtimes after a dramatic comeback in regulation.
“We’ve made that drive to win the game those three years, we didn’t this time,” Brown said. “We won the first half. They won the second half, and probably five plays in the game, maybe one or two that if we’d made, we win the game and things are totally different.”
Brown acknowledged the fan base is angry after giving up 70 points to James Madison and giving back the 20-point lead over the Blue Devils.
“In modern day college football, there’s so much anger publicly that it’s everywhere, not just here,” he said. “Players have to learn to handle that. That’s the way it’s gonna be in their lives. They’re gonna have crises that are more public than when I was growing up because of social media.
“So, it’s one of the things that you learn is to take negatives and turn ’em into positives. And that’s a life lesson. One of my jobs is to try to help them with life’s lessons. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Brown spent very little time talking about 4-0 Pitt, Saturday’s opponent at high noon in Kenan Stadium. The Panthers, the third straight unbeaten team the Tar Heels have faced, are from what the Carolina coach says is their best foe so far.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
