In a little over three months, the UNC football team will kick off their season against TCU. While the game will be a rematch of last year’s season opener against the Horned Frogs, the venue will be unique. The teams will square off in Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on August 29th (also worth noting if you missed the announcement: the UNC women’s soccer team will also play a game in Dublin on August 28th). It will be the Heels (and TCU’s) first time competing internationally in football.
UNC has
a huge following, so I have no doubt that light blue will be well represented in the stands when the game kicks off. Still, it’s roughly 3,600 miles and five time zones between Chapel Hill and Dublin. You’d have to be a pretty dedicated (and well heeled) Heels fan to make the trek to Ireland, especially considering Carolina is a decent sized underdog. Still, if I had the means and time, it’d be an experience I’d love to take in.
This got me thinking about the distances I’ve traveled to see the Heels play. I currently live seven-ish hours from Chapel Hill, so seeing the Heels compete almost always involves some amount of travel. Usually, it’s a three-hour trip to Louisville or Atlanta to catch an ACC matchup, although occasionally I’ll make the 500+ mile drive to catch a home game in the Smith Center. I’ve been as far south as New Orleans and as far west as Honolulu to catch the basketball team (and have a great vacation, of course).
So, my question for today is: what’s the furthest you’ve traveled to see UNC play? It can be any Tar Heel team, not necessarily just basketball or football. Have you done a road trip to catch an NCAA tournament matchup? Flown to the west coast to catch a bowl game? Let us know in the comments!
