A win, either tonight or in any of the next two games (if necessary), would "carry the state into a new era," writes the Charlotte Observer.
North Carolina, long famed for winning college men's basketball titles, could have its first major-pro sports champion.
The arrival of four big-time pro teams over the last 18 years showed how much North Carolina had grown. But a title would further shift perceptions about the state.
"It can counter the image that North Carolina is more Mayberry than more metropolitan," said Harvey Schmitt, president of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
The Associated Press states that the Canes give fans torn by college basketball rivalries the chance to unite; East Carolina football coach Skip Holtz believes the Canes are the right team at the right time.
A scoreboard picture of North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams brought boos from some of the Carolina Hurricanes’ fans. Sidney Lowe, the new North Carolina State coach, got the same treatment.
In North Carolina, basketball loyalties are passed down like family heirlooms. But with the Hurricanes one win from bringing the first major professional team championship to North Carolina, the rabid ’Caniacs who fill the RBC Center, and the ticketless fans who party outside as the game goes on, have embraced hockey as they might a NASCAR champion or ACC MVP.
Fans in these parts are proving a Tar Heel can love a game played on the ice. So can a Demon Deacon, a Blue Devil, those running with a Wolfpack or sailing with the Pirates.‘‘Everybody for the longest time would argue that North Carolina was all about basketball,’’ said East Carolina football coach Skip Holtz, who took time off from preparing the Pirates for next season to attend Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Edmonton Oilers in Raleigh.
‘‘I think this is a great sports state,’’ he said. ‘‘They follow it, they’re rabid, they’re animated. They’re great sports fans, and they’re going to follow a winner.’’
A Stanley Cup championship may mean a richer following statewide for the Hurricanes. The immediate goal, however, is to further embrace the Triangle, according to the Durham Herald-Sun.
The Canes think they need to do more to capture the imagination of sports fans in Durham.
Matt West, the team's vice president of business operations, is especially cognizant of the Bull City. He lives in Durham and was the Durham Bulls' director of sales before joining the Canes' organization in April 2004.
"We'd like to be the team or the entertainment component of this region that everybody could agree on, that everybody could support," West said. "It's kind of funny because I live 25 to 30 minutes from our building, and yet there are many people that feel Durham is light years away from Raleigh. They're not on the same planet."
A potential Stanley Cup might be the vessel the Hurricanes need to make further inroads in the Durham market.
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