On Wednesday I had the opportunity to watch the Diamond Heels play against the homestanding ECU Pirates.  It's not something I've gotten to do very often: watch my Tar Heels play against my schoolmates. As a graduate student at East Carolina, I had to make a choice: Wear the purple and gold of my current school (and employer), the Carolina blue of my alma mater, or just go neutral and not hurt anybody's feelings.

I wore a green shirt, walking straight down the middle. Oh, I was pulling for the Tar Heels, but I was respectful. I sat on my hands as Tim Federowicz blasted a home run onto Charles Boulevard, and when Reid Fronk put one on the gridiron Pirates' practice field. The Heels won, 5-1, but I think the game was closer than the score, especially win the Pirates threatened in the 8th inning.

It was a neat experience. I pull for the Pirates when they're playing anyone else. After all, it's more fun to be around a school with winning athletic programs. But it was also neat to see a familiar team (the Heels) play on the road in what was a familiar stadium for me. Sure, they got booed, and I expected that. But it was fun to see championship baseball in beautiful Clark-Leclair. Since the Pirates are in Conference USA, we don't often get the big rivalries that ACC fans are familiar with. This was fun. I wasn't torn, but I had to at least act like it.

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