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UNC's Forte a man of action
Posted: Monday November 01, 1999 10:41 AM
By Tim Crothers, Sports Illustrated CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- There is a longstanding tradition at the University of North Carolina that during a Tar Heels home football game in September the public address announcer gives the date and time of the season-opening Blue-White basketball game, at which point eager and relieved cheers arise from the faithful. At UNC, football is little more than an excuse for frat guys to get dates. That has never been more true than this season, when on Saturday afternoon the Tar Heels football squad endured a 28-3 drubbing at the hands of the Division I-AA Furman Paladins, a defeat which dropped UNC's record to an unsightly 1-7. The Blue-White scrimmage, poetically scheduled to begin in the wake of the football fiasco, acted as an exorcism of sorts. Tar Heels fans virtually sprinted from Kenan Stadium to the Dean E. Smith Center to cleanse their Carolina Blue souls. After the patrons adjusted to the unveiling of Carolina's new hoop uniforms -- which have created a firestorm of criticism that is, frankly, difficult to fathom -- they settled in to watch the beginning of what should be yet another banner season. North Carolina is ranked in the top 10 in almost every preseason poll, thanks in part to the fact that the Tar Heels did not lose a player to the NBA draft for the first time since 1990. With four returning starters, the only question mark on this year's team is at shooting guard, so fans watched with delight as one of the primary candidates for that position, freshman Joseph (Don't Call Me Joe) Forte, collected 32 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals, admittedly against the kind of dispassionate defense one sees in the NBA All-Star Game. According to Carolina tradition, at the postgame press conference Tar Heels coach Bill Guthridge opened his remarks by heaping praise upon all of his veteran players before finally acknowledging that "Joseph Forte had a real good box score and he's going to be a fine player." Also according to Carolina tradition, Forte did not have anything to say afterward because UNC freshmen are forbidden to speak to the press until after their first official game. Undaunted, I asked several Tar Heels, "If Joseph Forte could speak to me, what do you suppose he might say?" Forte's teammates each politely declined to role play. So, alas, we are left eagerly awaiting the mysterious sound of Joseph Forte's voice the way we once did Monica Lewinsky's.
Several Sports Illustrated writers are touring college campuses and will file occasional Postcards for CNNSI.com.
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