There are more than a few die-hard Tar Heel fans in Sampson County, and we know they are all smiles this week, reveling in the much-deserved NCAA championship their team brought back to North Carolina Tuesday.

We share in the pride that has lifted a state and given us some much-needed bragging rights.

With budget woes all around us, bad economic news gripping us and the light hard to find at the end of the tunnel, the Tar Heel’s race to a national honor has given us something to focus on, something to root for and something take our minds away from the far too negative news of late.

But economy aside, from a purely basketball standpoint Roy Williams and his boys proved time and again that they were the national champs, long before they ever cut down the ribbon Monday night.

A tip of the hat goes to our Tar Heel fans for sticking with their team all the way to Detroit and back, and our congratulations are extended to a team that worked hard, carried themselves well and brought home a title that each of us can share in.

We hope they bask in the glory they’ve brought back to this state. After all, they are the ones that earned it.