Hoops, Hops, and Hopes: 1982 in Chapel Hill

A memoir by Steven Leventhal – coming soon.

I am working feverishly on my forthcoming memoir. This is the story of a pivotal year in my life.

In 1978 I graduated in a class of 225 from a small town in North Carolina, and entered college that fall with one goal in mind, to do whatever it took to get into medical school. That was because my father, a businessman, kept urging me to find a profession. “I bust my ass Monday through Friday to try and still be in business the next Monday!” He said over and over. So much so, that it was etched into my brain by the time I could drive. Isn’t that what every Jewish parent wants for their kids?

I was also in awe of my uncle, an MD who was a leading biomedical researcher in the field of Gerontology, so I enrolled as a pre-med major, taking a heavy science class load. At the same time, I padded my resume with internships at the National Institute on Aging and the National Cancer Institute, all arranged by Uncle Ed.

So what happens when every single med school says no? That is where the story picks up.

If rejection letters weren’t enough, a family tragedy and a personal health scare made it seem like the weight of the world was on my shoulders.

The book mixes the college hi-jinks of “Animal House”, released four weeks before my freshman year, with the passionate pursuit of “The Paper Chase”. This story takes place in the “Southern Part of Heaven” – the historic and picturesque University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during 1982. My journey is intertwined with the Tar Heels’ quest for its first basketball championship in a quarter century, led by freshman Michael Jordan. Participating in student protests landed me in the cross-hairs of legendary coach Dean Smith, and the search for love got me in hot water with a few coeds. Classic midnight movies, superstar concerts, and news-making headlines round out this unbelievable but true story.

But this isn’t just about MJ, or Dean Smith, or James Worthy. UNC won three championships in 1982, as the women’s soccer team and men’s lacrosse program were emerging as national powerhouses. In addition, the UNC football team was ranked number three in the country, until star tailback Kelvin Bryant went down with a foot injury. We lost to eventual national champion Clemson by two points.

Thanks to Inside Carolina.com for running an excerpt. https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/Article/Book-Excerpt-Nineteen-Eighty-Two-1982-UNC-Basketball-Chapel-Hill-184122066/

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My freelance articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, Inside Carolina Magazine and on the 24/7 Sports blog site. In 1998, I created a novel system for newspapers to embed sports interview audio on their websites. Our company worked with every major newspaper chain in the US, including Gannett, Knight-Ridder, the New York Times, the Tribune Companies, Denver Post, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Advanced Media, and more. We also provided audio for the New York Islanders. I helped create one of the very first sports blogs on the Internet in 2007. In 2012, I launched Acid Flashback Radio, which can be heard by listeners in 120 countries around the world, and I parleyed that experience into the creation and design of the InternetFM streaming radio app.

My extensive knowledge of music and sports are featured prominently this memorable return to the year 1982.