Raleigh__  What a day for Carolina fans!  After watching the Heels beat SMU and accept a bid to the Peach Bowl, we gathered back at the Dean Dome lot to celebrate.  Our tailgate parties have grown tremendously over the past 2 seasons.  The word is getting out.  Tonight we were honored with Dawn Bunting's visit along with several former players:  Ike Oglesby, Ken Huff, and Ted Elkins.

Dawn Bunting has a great sense of humor.  Little does Corey know that he's getting 'rabbit ears'.  I gave John a nickname shortly after he was hired:  John "the Beast" Bunting.  Now the Beast is King of the Hill.  Dawn, I'm calling you the "Queen of Carolina"!  Thank you very much for dropping by.

And I promise I won't distract you from the game in Death Valley 2 years from now.

Ike Oglesby, Ken Huff and Ted Elkins are former players from the Dooley years.  Guys, I salute you for all that you've done for Carolina, and the 'blood, sweat and tears' you've left on the field of play.  I had a chance to share my ideas about building a more enthusiastic Carolina fan base with them, which includes former players tailgating with the fans.  They had a great time, and you know that we did.  Next year they'll be back and will bring other former players with them.  Thank you for spending time with us.

I've got to tell this funny story about Ken and the picture you see to your right.  Ken and Ted had a great time eating barbeque and visiting with the fans.  Finally, they were leaving together to head up to Kirkpatrick's.

I was following them to Ken's truck saying good-bye and thanking them for coming by our tailgate party.  At the last minute, I asked if they had any playing pictures I could put on CarolinaFan.com.

Ken reached in the back and pulled out this Redskin picture.  I accepted it, looked, then said, "Hey, don't you have one of you in 'blue and white'.  Ken replied, "I'm sorry, that's all I have."  Then I said, Well, I'm a Carolina fan!"  I was grinning and trying to let him know I was kidding around.  But the funniest part was when I looked over at Ted Elkins.  He was grinning from ear to ear.  He knew where I was coming from.  Sorry Ken, I had to share it.

That's me.  That's our crowd.  We love to party and have fun.  And we love the Heels - past, present, and future.  We've only just begun.  Next year will be bigger and better than ever.  There's a new Sheriff in town.  And his name is John "the Beast" Bunting!  What an honor to be in the Carolina family.  It just doesn't get any better than this.  Won't you join us?