Cooling their Heels: No season tickets for UNC football this season

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Tommy Ashley's family has had season tickets at Kenan Stadium since 1966. He's quick to note that that was before his arrival, but you get the point.

"For my family, they're all in to go. If they're allowed fans and we have a ticket, they're going to go," Ashley said.

Ashley is also sensitive to safety concerns and will understand if the season is called off, but until then, he can't wait. Others have already decided. As a staffer at Inside Carolina, Ashley is seeing all manner of responses.

"There's a lot of hardcore Carolina football people that are saying they're just going to wait till 2021 and that was a little surprising to me," he said.

UNC did not want to comment for this story, preferring to let am open letter do the talking. The gist of it -- no season tickets this year. If you're a season ticket holder, you can either donate the money to the athletic department, push it toward next season or get a refund altogether. Ten-year holder Kevin Chandler is taking the last option.

"I appreciate Bubba's effort and giving us the option to donate that money to the athletic department because I know they need it, but I need it too." Chandler laughed.

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The pain for Chandler is more emotional. He commutes for every game from Charlotte.

"Driving two-and-a-half hours is more than just being in Kenan Stadium. It's about tailgating for five-plus hours for every game," Chandler said. "A lot of my friends are married but a lot of them don't have kids yet, so the fact that one season has literally been ripped away from us -- it sucks."

Denise Hull's tailgating days are behind her. They just love experiencing the staples of Chapel Hill before the game.

"We'll try to get Sutton's or something like that and then maybe go to the student store," Hull said. "We go to the Rams Club patio and hang out, and then we go and just, you know, sit and wait for the game to start."

Hull was a student during Mack Brown's first run and is holding out for more information before deciding her course of action.

"If social distancing is enforced, and I feel safe. Like if we were masked or whatever, then yes, we would attend," she said.

Ashley, Chandler and Hull are all safety first, but the nightmare scenario for everyone remains no football at all, especially with the talent on this year's team.

"In no way did I think back in March that we'd be in this situation where football is now being threatened," Chandler said. "It sucks."