RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – fans have a lot to be excited about, with both the men’s and women’s
basketball teams in the Final Four for the first time in decades. Wolfpack fans gave the men a final send-off on Wednesday as the team heads to Phoenix for their game against Purdue. The last time the NC State’s men’s team reached the Final Four was back in 1983. Over 100 fans came out to show their support, cheering and chanting for the players as they boarded their bus to the airport. It is not just the next game fans are excited for. Many said this team could take it all the way. “I’m feeling like this is surreal. Every single time we’ve been winning, I’m like, this doesn’t make sense. And he keeps going, ‘We’re going to Phoenix.’ And it’s just like, ‘No, we’re not bro.’ It’s just crazy. It’s so exciting,” NC State junior Tanner Cable said. Fans of all ages and the band gathered at the Dail Basketball Center to support the team, but it is not just the players going to Phoenix. Plenty of fans made their own plans to cheer the team on in person. “When people ask me like, what championship game would you like to go to? I’ve always said an NCAA Final Four would be my go-to, not the
Super Bowl or College
Football Playoffs, this,” Cable said. Cable and his friend made their plans just hours after ended. “And then we rushed the bell tower, of course, and then we went over to his house, and we all booked flight tickets,” NC State junior Whitaker Bennett said. Flight ticket prices have been steadily rising since Sunday. Cable and his
Friends say they bought their tickets at $200 one way out of Charlotte, and that price jumped just after they bought it. They say they are not waiting another 40 years for this. “All right, well, we’re not missing this opportunity. Like, I’m okay to miss class for a couple of days for this,” Cable said. After watching NC State’s nine-game run, including an Atlantic Coast Conference championship, some fans are more confident than ever that another championship is on the horizon. “I requested my student ticket for Phoenix before we played a single game, before we started, even in the tournament. I knew we were going to make it. We’re going to win the whole thing. Go Pack,” Bennett said. NC State faces Purdue on Saturday evening. For those fans not going to Phoenix, they hope they will be rushing the bell tower for the 10th straight time that night.