Is UNC Tea-Bagging a Good Omen?
20 Apr 2009
While sitting at Bubs on a rather somber Saturday night, me and the guys got to talking about the whole Reggie Love incident. For those that have been around Chapel Hill for 5 years they know exactly what we are talking about. But for the new freshmen and sophomore, I believe it is our duty to enlighten them about the magic that UNC teabagging can create. In 2004, we associated Duke and teabagging with Reggie Love. In 2009, we now associate those terms with Greg Paulus. What do the 2 have in common? They are both ditching the basketball court and seeking time on the football field. Like Paulus, Love was given a workout with the Packers in 2005 in an attempt to join the NFL.
I have made a clear distinction in the levels of hating that is associated with Duke. First of all, I will give their students credit where it is due. While I may taunt and continuously make fun of the “Cameron Crazies”, I will always give them a congratulatory chest bump for high GPAs and straight As. For these Dukies, their personal life is off limits to their arch enemies . . . we have that mutual respect in my eyes.
On the other hand, all athletes are fair game if they choose to humiliate themselves publicly.
This is where Mr. Reggie Love enters the court. Love was a reserve basketball player for Duke’s basketball team during the 2000 – 2005 seasons. While he only averaged 7 minutes and 1.3 points per game throughout his career, he did manage to receive a degree in Public Policy and Political Science from this fine institution. After graduation Reggie bounced around a few NFL teams (the Packers and Cowboys), only to find himself applying for an internship in Capitol Hill . . . in the offices of Senator Barack Obama. After a few years of hard work and persistence, Reggie now calls himself “Barack’s main man”.
Now Reggie Love is capable of claiming he is the personal aide to the most celebrated president-elect in history. Love not only got to stand by Obama’s side, but he catered to his every need:
When Mr. Obama dropped food on his tie while eating in the car between stops, Mr. Love was ready with a Tide pen. He always carries one, along with ballpoint pens, and has turned himself into a walking dispensary of Sharpies, stationery, protein bars, throat lozenges, water, tea, Advil, Tylenol, Purell and emergency Nicorette, not to mention his ever-present iPhone, BlackBerry and Canon Rebel XT digital camera. (Mr. Love keeps a photo journal of the campaign, and has more than 10,000 pictures so far.)
I would give anything to be in Reggie’s position, as would nearly every Obama supporter that helped out during the campaign. With a prominent position in such a historical era, there’s no doubt that his highly controversial UNC incident would be covered up graciously. In truth, however, this incident may have been the good omen that sparked his political career. The national media depicted it as such:
When Mr. Obama hits a rough patch in the campaign, Mr. Love is sympathetic. In college, embarrassing pictures of an inebriated Mr. Love from a fraternity house party surfaced on the Internet. “You make mistakes and you learn from them, and you try to use them to make you a better person,” he said. After graduating with a degree in political science and public policy, Mr. Love had summer try-outs with the Green Bay Packers in 2004 and the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 before being cut.
Ah, “embarrassing pictures of an inebriated Mr. Love from a fraternity house party” . . . those pictures. Which is why when I read Reggie Love was the personal aide to Obama, I laughed for a straight 10 minutes. Then I had a moment of enlightenment, followed by a breakfast burrito, then said “good for him”!
The Tale of Reggie Love led to one of my most memorable moments at UNC during a Duke basketball game. On March 6th, 2005 somehow I found my way into the game through a campus contest, during which we were immediately handed teabags as we walked through the student gate. Nearly 6,000 teabags littered the student section, although not one was raised until Reggie Love walked onto the court. There was even a call to tea-bag the White House on March 29, 2009. Although the vast majority of the nation, Dick Vitale, and even Roy are still oblivious to what was going on, we all knew we were in the head of K, the Duke students, players, and fans.
Earlier that year, Reggie Love so humbly stumbled into a UNC frat house. As with most students after a long night of partying, passing out on a couch in the basement seemed like a logical thing to do. Like any self respecting frat boy, Reggie was shamed with sharpies, cameras, and balls in the face.
Unlike Reggie Love, however,Greg Paulus has not had the fortune to have his teabaggings take place in the sanctity of a frat house basement. Unfortunately, his defacement occurred on national television and were spread viral within days. Like his predecessor, the whole Greenbay Packer’s route never worked out. But if being teabagged at UNC happens to be a lucky omen, then Greg Paulus has quite a future ahead of him.
To Greg Paulus: Good luck and have faith as a Wolverine. If the story of Reggie Love has taught us people at UNC anything, it’s that balls in the face at the fortune of our students can only lead to success and fortune.