REPORTING FROM ... THE ACC TOURNEY

G-Man is nothing if not direct.

On the street corners surrounding Bobcats Arena Friday morning you'd assume that the color powering the rabid ticket exchange business is green, but it's not.

         "Blue, baby," says a curbside entrepreneur who asked to be addressed only as G-Man. "We got Tarheels today and Blue Devils tonight. Business is good!"
         And fan demand—not to mention their stress level—is higher than normal thanks to the relatively tight squeeze of the BA (20,200) versus the league's regular digs, the Greensboro Coliseum and the Georgia Dome.
         "I've been a Clemson booster for 25 years," says an oranged-jacketed gentleman having a 10:15 AM beer across the street from the arena. "How the hell is it I can't get a ticket to tonight's game?"
         "Well, Mr. Brewmeister, part of your problem is that you're not from Tobacco Road. Take it from G-Man.
         "When State and Wake got bounced yesterday I was all jazzed to snatch up their weekend tickets, but Carolina and Duke fans were already out here waiting on them as they came out. It was kind of sad, man. Like the big bullies beating up the little guys and taking their lunch money."
         "And if they need a beer to go with that lunch, they can go hang out with orange jacket guy."
          He's got nothing better to do.

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine