Varsity Theatre hosts sold-out UNC-Duke game screening

It’s time for the North Carolina-Duke rivalry game, and for the seventh consecutive year, the Tar Heel Outreach Program is hosting its annual watch party at the Varsity Theatre.

Paul Shareshian, co-owner of the Varsity Theatre, said Tar Heel Outreach Program students organize the event.

“They actually handle all the tickets. This week they sell them down at the Pit and every year they sell out,” he said.

The watch party has become a popular event among students, especially for those without tickets to the game — and since tonight’s game is in Durham, that covers plenty of people. Shareshian said the Varsity’s location had a lot to do with the popularity of the event.

“I think the proximity to Franklin Street, obviously,” he said. “After the game, they can rush the street pretty easily because we’re already on the street.”

UNC sophomore Margaret Smith attended the watch party for the first time last year.

She said that while she would have preferred to be at the game itself, the watch party was a cool experience.

“Having it be sort of a large watch party is different from going to somebody’s house and watching it because you don’t know everybody who’s there and it’s less set-up for people to talk and everything,” Smith said.

Smith said she felt that it was different to experience the rivalry game as a UNC student because of the general atmosphere and excitement.

“Watching it on a really big screen was cool because it made you feel like you were even more there than if you were watching it on a TV or something,” she said.

UNC sophomore Morgan Wolfkill went to the watch party for both of last season’s games against Duke. She also plans to go to the watch party tonight.

Wolfkill said she was uncertain about buying tickets her first time and ultimately didn’t because the watch party sold out. She said she was luckily able to buy a ticket from someone who could no longer go.

“The second time around, right when they started selling them, I went ahead and bought them immediately because the first time was such a good experience that I knew that’s where I wanted to be again,” she said.

Wolfkill said the atmosphere of the theatre is different during the game than for movies.

“Being able to watch the game on such a big screen with so many people who are just excited as you are was just a lot of fun,” she said.

UNC won during her second watch party, which allowed her to experience the hectic rush to Franklin Street up close.

“It was awesome,” she said. “When we ran out on the street, you could kind of see people from all directions running towards you. We were basically already in the middle of the intersection where everything happens, so we’re just standing there going crazy with all of these people and all of a sudden there’s a rush of more people from every direction coming towards you. It was definitely something I’d do again.”

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