Raleigh native, former 'Bachelor' Matt James sounds siren in PNC Arena ahead of Game 5

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Former 'Bachelor" Matt James sounded the siren ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.



James, a Raleigh native, was in attendance with his mother Patty and girlfriend and former contestant Rachael Kirkconnell.

"There's a lot on the line tonight it's win or go home," James said. "I was hoping that Slavin would hear that and feel my energy. We need him on defense tonight."

James, who does appearances all across the country, said there's nothing like being back in Raleigh.

"There's nothing like it," James said. "It's just electric in here. There's nothing like playoff hockey. I'm just blessed to be here."

"We're back," James said. "This is Carolina love. I wouldn't expect anything less out of Carolina out of this fanbase. We need it going into Game 5."

James, who founded ABC Food Tours, has a big interest in giving back to the community, something he hopes to do more of this next year.

"There's a lot to come," he said. "We've had a lot of time to ideate around how to best service our students and hopefully partner with the Hurricanes and teams like that so expect a lot of things in 2022."

Also sounding the siren Tuesday night was Jon Scheyer, the next coach Duke men's basketball following Coach Mike Krzyzewski's retirement after next season.