More precisely, I was en route to the floor of the Smith Center in what I imagine was the only instance I will ever rush that court during my time here. (After every other win, we just yawn and eat a sandwich.)

In short time, my buddies and I were sprinting uphill to Franklin Street to join in the festivities.

This was the moment we'd been waiting for since we came in as freshmen. This wasn't a half-hearted rush, like when we're expected to obliterate Duke and then do so. This was it. This was our moment. This was ... somewhat anticlimactic.

We bolted out into the crowd and then immediately, as I was gasping for air, I was left wondering: "Now what?"

I don't think I'm the only one who encounters this conundrum. I figure that having a lack of anything better to do at least partially explains why fires get started and trees and road signs get torn down.

But other than an entertainment void, why do we light things on fire? Because that's what you're supposed to do, Franklin Street tradition dictates. To borrow the words of Billy Joel, we didn't start the fire -- it was always burning since the world's been turning.

Pepper's Pizza, P and P, Sutton's Drug, Bubble Tea

Spanky's Restaurant, Shrunken Head, Ye Olde Waffle Shop.

Walgreens coming, [B]Ski's Grill, Amber Alley, Top of the Hill

Johnny T-shirt, He's Not Here, Why is there a Gamestop?

This is our song. We didn't start the fire that is the institution of Franklin Street, and when the officer asks, nobody will claim the actual fire burning in the street.

Franklin Street is an amalgamation of two worlds that has taken on an organic feel over the years, as if it has a life of its own. Nobody can point to where it started or to where its traditions originated.

The street's history and its central importance to both the university and the town make it the perfect venue for a communal, joint town-gown celebration.

But to combat the joint problem of revelers with nothing to do mindlessly destroying something we all love, this summer UNC's Executive Branch of Student Government began working on a plan to enhance Franklin Street celebrations by providing some additional creative and fun activities.

We hope that, as welcome side effect, offering such activities will simultaneously reduce the destruction of Franklin Street and make celebrations safer for everyone involved.

These celebrations are among students' most memorable Carolina moments. We want to make sure they're as memorable as they can be.

However, we want our memories to be of UNC chants, not UNC Hospitals.

The town and university split the $207,825 price tag on cleanup following the championship weekend. Trees and traffic signals were damaged, and at least one road sign disappeared underneath a crowd surfer.

Two students were arrested, 10 were taken to UNC Hospitals, and 16 more were treated on-site for injuries.

Fun and safety are not mutually exclusive, and if we're creative, we can find ways to increase both.

With little regard yet to feasibility, here are a few starter ideas:

•Setting up basketball hoops and holding free-throw shooting contests, potentially with T-shirts or some other item as prizes

•Erecting large screens at either end of the street so we can watch replays of the game

•An absurd quantity of beach balls (I'm a Parrothead at heart)

•Mass alma mater and fight song singings

•Intermittently dispersed boom boxes to allow for spontaneous dance parties

Mostly, however, we'd like your ideas -- town residents and students alike. This is your celebration. What do you want to be doing after UNC's next big win?

We picture it sort of like one of those "create your own adventure" books where you can choose which page to turn to next. You can create your own Franklin Street celebration.

After all, we still have our own verse of the Franklin Street song to write.