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My 2 Cents: Seeing the bigger picture with the UNC/Duke game

Eric Chilton puts his allegiance aside and talks about what this game really means to our state and the Atlantic Coast Conference.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — So, I wore my Carolina shirt on purpose today. Of course, as a die-hard fan, I want my team to win but also as a Carolina fan I want to say that I recognize and respect Coach K's numbers. The total number of wins, the Final Fours, and the 5 national championships. By the numbers, he is one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history. But sometimes you need to see the bigger picture. 

If we zoom out a bit, this game is more than just UNC vs. Duke. Of course, that is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports but this game is huge for our state as well.

To have two of the 4 remaining teams be from North Carolina just brightens the spotlight on our state. Maybe Governor Roy Cooper was right in proclaiming North Carolina as the "Center of The College Basketball Universe."

Let's take it a step further and zoom our camera's view out a bit more. At the beginning of the year, the Atlantic Coast Conference was taken a beating by sportscasters and pundits for not being the typically strong college basketball conference.  

As the year went on they didn't have much good to say about either the Tar Heels or the ACC. Finally, several of our teams started peaking at the right time. Duke and Carolina rose to the top finishing first and second. Virginia Tech ripped through the conference tournament to get a bid to the big dance while Miami showed up as well.

In the end, 2 of the Final Four teams are ACC. Take that sports pundits.

As the smoke clears we as ACC fans can celebrate. No matter which blue is your color. We are all benefitting from this game. Oh, and I hear there's another game Monday. But that one may be overshadowed. LOL, That's just My 2 Cents.

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