Sunday, Mar. 06, 2011

Battle for Bean Street grinds toward finish

With the ACC Tournament starting Thursday and March Madness about to heat up, the Battle for Bean Street, an off-court, coffee-cup rivalry between N.C. State, Duke and UNC fans, is grinding down, too.

I first told you about the Battle for Bean Street when the fan-based competition for pride, charity and bragging rights was launched in December. Back then, only 20,000 cups of coffee had been sold.

Now, according to my last click on the digital battle grounds map at BattleForBeanStreet.com, UNC, my alma mater, has the lead with 39 percent, or 38,294 cups sold. Its Midtown rival, N.C. State, is second with 37 percent, or 36,797 cups. Duke lags behind both with 23 percent, or 22,633 cups.

To keep it fun during the competition's final stretch, Kangaroo and Mentos - the oblate spheroid-shaped mints and gum - will host B-ball on Bean Street in City Plaza from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

B-ball on Bean Street is a community tournament coinciding with the ACC's real tournament. In Midtown, though, we're invited to play basketball to win tickets to Sunday's ACC Championship game in Greensboro and autographed sports memorabilia.

We also can watch the street games and the ones on TV, munch on free concessions that include samples of Bean Street Coffee and Mentos and learn about the charities each school chose. Kids can do activities provided by Marble's Kids Museum.

If we want, we can upgrade our free coffee with a $1 donation to our team's charity and get a university-branded Battle for Bean Street cup.

Remember, the university with the most school-logo branded Bean Street Coffee cups sold at 47 Triangle-area Kangaroo Express convenience stores by April 1 becomes Battle for Bean Street Champion and wins a $20,000 donation to the charity of its choice. Runners up each get $5,000 for charity.

N.C. State is in the battle for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, which is part of the Jimmy V Foundation; UNC is battling for its student-led Build a Block, a Habitat for Humanity project to build 10 houses for 10 university and UNC hospital employees; and Duke is on the front lines for its Duke Cancer Center.

On Thursday afternoon, likely between the noon and 2:30 p.m. games, B-ball on Bean Street will be the scene for a "celebrity" Free-Throw Competition. The contestant who makes the most free throws out of 10 tries wins 1,000 Battle for Bean Street cups donated toward the total for their school of choice.

I'll be shooting my hoops for UNC and its Build a Block.

Last month saw sports legends join the battle at Kangaroo stores:

Bob Harris, the Hall of Fame "Voice of the Blue Devils," signed copies of his new book, "How Sweet It Is!", an autobiographical look at 35 years of Duke sports. The first 40 people got free, autographed copies.

In Chapel Hill, Donald Williams, a Garner native who played on UNC's 1993 championship team, autographed UNC-branded Bean Street Coffee cups and took pictures with fans. Williams, who played four years under Dean Smith and 12 professional seasons, is now the assistant coach of high school girls' basketball at St. Mary's School.

Here in Midtown, former N.C. State players Chris Corchiani (1988-1991), who played in Jimmy V's final year of coaching, and Will Roach (2002-2004) autographed N.C. State Bean Street cups and took pictures with fans. The first 50 fans got a free pink N.C. State Tradition Scarf, a benefit for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund organized by Roach, a Broughton High graduate.

The schools haven't missed the battle, either.

Duke's tennis coach bought 400 Duke battle cups and gave them to students camping out for tickets at Camp K-Ville, and N.C. State students emblazoned the Free Expression Tunnel with Bean Street reminders.

The coffee campaign battle also has pushed to connect with students, with each school having a student intern working with the Battle for Bean Street project, said Dave Henninger, Kangaroo Express' vice president of marketing. Also, any student with a smart phone can tap into the campaign's QR (Quick Response) code by taking a picture of a two-dimensional bar code that links them directly to the Battle for Bean Street website.

Word is, student leadership and passion is heating the battle up even more.

"There's a movement afoot," Henninger said. "N.C. State and Duke are planning to make a surge at the end."

With just 1,500 cups to go, UNC could easily lose its lead.

I'd better go shoot some practice shots.