Super fan sparkles at UNC football games

Alex Koszeghy sat at a table near the Pit wearing a sweater, yoga pants and a smile. 

Out of those three, the smile is the only one of those things Koszeghy wears for a Carolina football game. 

Most UNC fans content themselves with a logo shirt or hat or a Carolina blue piece of clothing. 

For Koszeghy, paint and glitter will do.

The senior is part of a small group of students who paint themselves for every home game, and sometimes away games.

“It started last year at the Duke game,” Koszeghy said. “It was Homecoming, best game ever. Before that I had gone to a couple of games and I was like, 'Eh,' but I went to the Duke game and painted up, and I thought, 'This is the greatest thing ever — this is going to be part of my experience.'”

Painting up is an amplification of Koszeghy’s outgoing personality. 

She does not really drink or party for game days, but the excitement that comes with painting up is something she loves.

Koszeghy said the act takes a lot more dedication than people think it does.

Jennifer Williams, a junior who got painted for a couple games this year, agreed. 

“It was fun to be present and show Carolina spirit in a different way,” Williams said. “But it takes lots of dedication. I love it, I think it’s great, I definitely admire it.”

But even students who haven't dressed up — including Matty Jackman — admire the passion that their peers, like Koszeghy, have. 

"I'm head over heels for her commitment to school spirit," Jackman said.

What has really set Koszeghy apart this year though is her use of glitter, an idea she got when attending the Florida State game. 

“At the FSU game, I saw the Garnet and Gold Guys and thought it was so cool,” Koszeghy said. “And I was like why not glitter? So I did.”

Game day! Let's go Noles! pic.twitter.com/qVlQsYwQ8o

— Garnet and Gold Guys (@GarnetGoldGuys) November 5, 2016

The glitter comes at a price. 

For each of the last three games Koszeghy has worn glitter, it has cost her about $30 per game.

And it's not just her bank account that takes a hit for the glitter — Koszeghy tried getting the glitter to stick last week with rubber cement instead of Elmer’s glue because she ran out.  

She said the cement started to burn, so she googled it and found that rubber cement can actually burn skin. She had to shower everything off and start over from scratch.

Even with all the work involved with the glitter, Koszeghy said it was still worth it, partially because of the recognition it gets.

The other part is because of UNC Head Football Coach Larry Fedora, someone Koszeghy looks up to, and eventually got to meet. 

“I sent him an email, I was just like 'just want to say thank you', and I, like, sent him a picture and I was like 'you’ve been a wonderful coach',” she said. “And he wrote back, 'Alex you're my favorite Tar Heel fan, I wish we had more people like you.'”

Being a senior, Koszeghy knows her time is almost up. But while she enjoys it, she's about ready for it to be done.

"I'm going to do glitter one more time for the spring game and then pass the torch on" she said. 

@sethpyle22

swerve@dailytarheel.com