After 211 games, some memorable and some not, Wake Forest cornered UNC and forced an admission. The most one-sided rivalry in a state of rivalries paused, and Carolina was forced to take on another adversary. Things might never be the same after Wake stomped North Carolina 95-82 Saturday afternoon on the biggest day in the history of sports in this city.

Chris Paul stood awash in bright lights and backslappers and proclaimed this day an event for the ages.

"This is our time,'' he said.

The kid from Winston-Salem who grew up a Carolina fan spiked the basketball onto the parquet floor at Joel Coliseum and didn't watch to see it come down. As far as he knows, it never did.

Of all the Big Four rivalries, this was the only one that mattered to Wake Forest. Of all its rivalries, this was the one that Carolina never acknowledged. But a scheduling decision brought on by ACC expansion ended more than 80 years of home-and-home games and rendered this a unique situation.

Justin Gray, the kid from Charlotte who grew up a Carolina fan, ran to the edge of the parquet floor and pointed into a sea of delirium.

"I told you!'' he screamed. "Did I tell you? I told you!''

Later, in the quiet moments after the most important day in the long history of Wake-Carolina, Gray sat in a chair and talked not about the past nor the future.

"Right now,'' he said. "This is our time.''

All week long, the city that surrounds Wake Forest University prepared for a game like no other, a one-time shot at North Carolina with national rankings and national television and national attention painting a backdrop to an ambush. Carolina never had a chance.

The Heels arrived in a city that was once a Carolina town despite the presence of Wake Forest, a city that never completely embraced its Deacons and never quite generated enough excitement to equal the programs in Raleigh and Durham and Chapel Hill. Wake once moved its home games to Greensboro, so loose were its ties to Winston-Salem.

Somewhere between the recruitment of Randolph Childress and the recruitment of the Carolina fans now on the Wake Forest roster, something changed. Saturday was a coming-out party, a tie-dye affair at the end of a long week of anticipation and years of waiting. Wake Forest finally got the Heels where it wanted them.

Roy Williams, a Carolina fan who grew up in Asheville, said it was a shame neither team could take home a trophy after this one.

"Playing a major rival only once a year compared to 50 years of playing them twice is a big change,'' Williams said. "It's something we're going to have to live with. Maybe it'll make the games bigger than they truly are.''

This was truly a big game, not only inside the arena but outside, too. Wake Forest truly believes it will win the national title this year and join its Big Four brethren in that elite circle of state champions. But more importantly, Wake has won over its own city.

"Growing up here in Winston-Salem, the buzz has never been like it is now,'' Paul said. "To the guys on this team from North Carolina, it means a little bit more. We understand the rivalry. I think it means a lot for Winston-Salem. Wake's been overlooked for a long time. You used to see more Carolina paraphernalia in the mall than Wake Forest. That's changing.''

There's a sense that this is indeed Wake's time. There's a sense that Wake Forest, for the first time ever, is cool. There's a sense that Wake Forest, after all these years, has arrived in Winston-Salem.