University of Virginia Library

Charlotte, North Carolina, 317,000 in
The Queen City with very few queens.
Instead Frank Grubb's Used Tire Sales,
Radio Stations addicted to Nashville and Detroit,
And enough drive-in, stop-light hoods and cycle gangs
To give any town in New Jersey a real run.
Residential areas of Georgetown brick and clapboard
Manage to survive in quiet—so far.
Speaking like a native is relatively easy:
Substitute an "i" for any "e" and smother with drawl.
They'll never know you're Northern
Which, of course, Virginia is down there.
Hosting the Atlantic Coast Tournament last weekend,
Charlotte below its mind with roundballs and hoops
Somehow still staying Southernly courteous-polite.
The Coliseum is totally big league,
With that same kind of organ and organist
You've heard before in bigger places
Except that for Friday's semi-finals
The great omnipotent organist played
The National Anthem to start the second half
Of the second game.
Better late than never.
But that was the night of the overtime and the freeze
And not much happened as planned—ask Vic Bubas.
During the stall, State's Coach Sloan
Called playmaker Biedenback over for instructions
While Duke's Barone listened there too.
And Dave Golden kindly posed smilingly for
The Cavalier Daily.
Bill Currie, famed Mouth of the South broadcaster,
Called the game
"As exciting to watch as artificial insemination."
And at a post-game press party
The Mouth of the South was even more foul and funny.
Friday became Saturday, then Sunday too soon.