Twenty Tar Heels boarded a plane with an opportunity of a lifetime in front of them. For the first time in his career, Professor Matthew Andrews took a group of students to see the event about which he's been teaching a course for the past eight years.
The University of North Carolina course History 220: The Olympic Games is among the many sports history classes taught by the beloved Professor Andrews.
By dissecting in detail the modern Games from 1896 to the present day, students are educated on topics like "the Cold War; terrorism; human rights; the anti-apartheid movement; and issues of race, class, gender, disability; and the question of who is a 'real' athlete," per the course description.
"I'm a U.S. historian, but I was interested in teaching a global history class, and I thought a great way to do it would be to combine my lifelong love of the Olympic Games with a course that uses the Olympic Games to explore global politics and international relations. So, I started doing that in 2016, right after the Rio Games," Andrews shared.
Paris 2024 gave the professor a chance to combine a summer course he has hosted before with the experience of seeing in person the event talked so much about in class.
"This is the second time I've taught a study abroad on the history of the Olympic Games in London. And it just so happened that the Paris Games were going on, so we pushed it back to the end of the summer so we could all visit."
London is just a bit more than a two-hour train ride from the host city of this year's Olympics, and Andrews saw the unmatched learning opportunity this provided. Not just for his students, but witnessing the Games in person also gave the professor a new perspective.
Through teaching the course, "I kind of put on the hat of the critic of the IOC and the Olympic Games. Too big, too expensive, too nationalistic, provoked tensions rather than ease tensions," explained Andrews.
"This has really opened my eyes to what a wonderful event the Olympic Games are. We were in volleyball yesterday with Italians and Poles who were hugging each other and singing and dancing, and it just seems to bring everyone together. There are so many people from all around the world in this city at this one time. So this has been a marvelous experience."
JT Tygart, a rising junior studying history and political science at UNC, is an avid sports fan who has been intently watching the Olympics on TV for as long as he can remember—but that volleyball game revealed a side of sports he has never seen before.
"It's unexplainable! All the fans were crazy, like, a better atmosphere than the Duke-Carolina basketball game. Better atmosphere than any sporting event I've been to. It was awesome."
The detour to Paris was just four days of the three weeks spent learning overseas. The students have been completely immersed in Olympic culture since they arrived in London.
Clara Hockenberry, a senior majoring in history and dramatic arts, appreciates the unique perspective she has gained while abroad.
"It was really cool to go around the Olympic Park and Olympic Stadium to see the venues where the 2012 Games took place. To really understand how the Olympics happen in a city on that scale… understanding how it all fits together to make the Games a success. To see how it happened in the past and to come here and see how it's happening now."
Even in London, the students weren't just surrounded by the Olympics past, but unexpectedly saw current athletes as well. The Tar Heels ran into the U.S. Women's basketball team in a pub after they played an exhibition game in London before heading to Paris.
Professor Andrews believes this education makes sports much more enjoyable, highlighting the importance of this trip.
"We have a habit in the United States, I think, of overly celebrating sports and uncritically celebrating sports. I think we all probably love sports here, but you have to know the facts. You have to know what's going on, and so you have to know about the gender issues and about sex testing. You have to know about the economic issues that plague cities."
"Just know the facts, attend the games, feel the joy, and then make up your own mind."
Jasmine Baker is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina where she studied Sports Broadcast Journalism with minors in History and Coaching Education. The Mississippi native currently resides in Chicago, IL, specializing as a storyteller in Content and Production for the Chicago Bears. Baker has been a sports reporter since high school and she is dedicated to sharing the stories of athletes both on and off the field.