Students storm the court in celebration during the Maryland vs. Virginia game at Comcast Center on Sunday.
The line stretched around the Comcast Center concourse yesterday, with people of all ages wearing fan gear from different eras waiting for a glimpse, signature or photo of a cast of Terrapins men’s basketball legends.
Former coach Gary Williams sat at a table with former stars Juan Dixon, Tom McMillen and Walt Williams. Fans hoped to relive memories from the Terps’ ACC history while introducing younger fans to those who had been part of the program before its upcoming move to the Big Ten this summer.
And with a 75-69 upset of No. 5 Virginia, the Terps provided a send-off worthy of the day’s pomp and circumstance. While the victory was significant on the court for the Terps, who are clinging to their NCAA tournament hopes, it capped 61 years of ACC tradition for the university community.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Carmen Kaarid, a sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences. “[This university] was one of the founding ACC teams, and there’s a huge connection we’ve got with them.”
An announced sellout crowd of 17,950 packed Comcast to watch the Terps’ final ACC game, and many students in attendance lined up hours before the noon tipoff. Some arrived by the student entrance as early as 6:45 a.m. hoping to sit in their favorite seats.
Freshman electrical engineering major Peter Kruse showed up at 7 a.m. with face paint in hand.
“I wanted to say I was there waiting for the game, the very last ACC game,” said Kruse, an Ellicott City native who grew up as a Terps fan.
Kruse and his friends painted their hair red, yellow and black before arriving at Comcast. While waiting, they painted each other’s faces the same colors.
“Just the atmosphere in general is awesome,” freshman aerospace engineering major Tyler Degraw said as his friends painted lines across his face in the school colors. “I’d say it’s a big game because it’s the ACC farewell, but it’s moving into the Big Ten too.”
Farther back in line, Kaarid sat under a blanket in a chair with a Harry Potter book. Bagels and coffee cups littered the ground around her. Other students tossed Frisbees and footballs outside the Terrapin Trail Garage.
Waiting for the fans inside Comcast were free ACC commemorative posters for all and free T-shirts for students. A large piece of paper covered a section of the wall outside section 205, where fans were encouraged to write their favorite ACC moments in marker.
Tahj Holden, a forward on the 2002 national championship team, mingled with the crowd and checked out the sign. After a few moments, Holden walked up to the paper, grabbed a marker and wrote, “Beating UVA at the last game at Cole Field House!” with a slight smile on his face.
University alumnus Frank Wagner went straight to the autograph line at 10:30 a.m. when doors opened, and after 45 minutes, he was still waiting for his chance to meet some of the program’s greats. But the 1980 graduate used the time as a chance to recall some of his most poignant memories.
“Everything about [Len Bias]; Lenny was awesome,” Wagner said. “It’s one of those things that you remember where you were the day that he passed away.”
Bias, who died in 1986 and has his number hanging in Comcast’s rafters, still had a presence for the final game in a league in which he turned in some memorable performances. Former Terps guard and NBA All-Star Steve Francis appeared in the second half wearing a Bias Boston Celtics jersey and a hat emblazoned with the Maryland flag.
And when fans stormed the court, Francis was among them, congratulating Dixon and forward Jake Layman while linking together generations of different Terps players.
“It means everything,” guard Dez Wells said after the game. “We just want to go out there and play hard, not just for ourselves but for everybody that’s played here and everybody that will play here in the future. We’re willing to go out here and show everybody that Maryland Terrapins aren’t dead yet. We’re not out of the fight yet.”
The Terps still have the ACC tournament left later this week in Greensboro, N.C., and they won’t play their first Big Ten matchup until the end of this year or beginning of 2015. But that didn’t stop 14-year-old Andrew Fitzgerald of Belcamp from looking forward to the new conference.
Clad in a 2002 national championship jacket and a Maryland flag bow tie, Fitzgerald attended his first Terps game a few years ago and thinks Comcast is one of the best environments for watching a game. He said that though the teams will be unfamiliar and the league will be different next year, that won’t stop fans from coming to games.
Yet while Terps fans may be excited for what lies ahead, they had a chance to remember the program’s history in a conference they helped form more than six decades ago. Fitzgerald and the others lined up around Comcast Center’s concourse were waiting for a chance to meet four iconic Terps figures, each of whom carved memories while competing in the ACC.
“It was very special for us,” Wells said. “Sixty-one years is a long time in the ACC. It’s been a lot. It’s been a long time coming, and for us to end it this way is really special.”
