The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Duke University. 8 miles apart. A beautiful, light shade of blue named after us, favorite color of the Big Man upstairs. A darker, less appealing shade that brings nauseating feelings. 10 National Championships combined (obviously more in favor of God's shade of blue UNC 6 Duke 4)...46 ACC Championships (again in favor of God's shade of blue UNC 27 Duke 19)...229 meetings (do i even need to say it....yes, again in favor of God's shade of blue UNC 130 Duke 99)....a rivalry like no other. You pledge allegiance to one side or the other. Tar Heels and Devils do NOT get along...at least not on game day. Chapel Hill and Durham.....one place where both flock to, Heaven on Earth, a place to call home. The other a place where no one really wants to go, the armpit of the South. Roy and Coach K....a very likable, passionate, Southern boy that learned from the greatest basketball coach in history (the one and only Dean E. Smith).....the other a rat-like, user of not so family-friendly language, but who I will have to admit is a good coach. These are only the beginnings of the dividing factors. Again....a rivalry like no other!
I was reminded this weekend of the passion I had as a child watching Carolina Basketball games. I would gather all the Tar Heel novelties in the house and sit directly in front of the tv long before tip-off, anxiously waiting. I would fanatically celebrate each win and on the rare occasion that Dean and the boys lost I would definitely cry. I can remember a crew of boys (Candy Cane's friends) coming over to play basketball and then watch the games with my dad....I can distinctly remember the Duke games. There was something special about those days. I'd throw on all my gear and roll into school, ready to take on any one. Every teacher was well aware when the Carolina/Duke game was happening. The love of the Tar Heels was bred into me long ago. It is quite possible that Tar Heels were the first words I learned to spell.
Along with this long-time love for the boys in Carolina Blue came a long-time hatred for that other, inferior blue. While I won't go as far to say I hate the boys or the coach I will say that in every true Carolina fan there is a soured feeling you have towards that other team 8 miles down the road. You hear the name and cringe. This hatred goes both ways though and that is the beauty of the rivalry. It's one where we don't really want to admit to respecting each other but in reality the rivalry forces us into respect. If the other team was not worthy of respect the rivalry would not prevail as it does. But even with respect, that flame of intolerance and disgust burns deeply. This hatred towards Duke doesn't seem to stop with the Carolina family though, many in the country feel the same. A good friend in law school who is a UConn grad told me from the beginning (she too caught on to my sports obsession) that even though she wasn't a Tar Heel at heart, we did share a hatred for Duke. Clearly we immediately became good friends. For me though, the light of that beautiful shade of blue I pledge allegiance to shines brighter and overpowers the way I loathe Duke.
Every Carolina fan has memories of where they were for the Duke game. We each can recall specifics. The picture of Tyler bleeding en route to defeating them, the long shot in stride by Jeff Capel to send the game into overtime, the put-back by Marvin Williams followed by free throws to lead us to the win in 2005, the reverse JAM by Stackhouse (my childhood favorite) at Cameron, JJ crying on senior night after Tyler and the boys beat him yet again on his home court, Danny's DUNK over the dookie, and yes we even remember the blow out last year as heart aching as it was (and which makes us even more anxious for tonight). These memories stick with us, which speaks to the intensity of this rivalry.
While I personally have several close friends that, against their better judgment, pledge their allegiance to the Devils of Dirty D....and we'll wake up tomorrow (ok maybe give it until Friday) as friends....but for tonight we are enemies. I was at Winter Jam this weekend and one of the performers said we march to battle under different banners on the basketball court...one as the Tar Heels, the other as the Blue Devils....but we unite under one banner in the ultimate battle, the banner of Jesus Christ. (I agree with this 100% and believe there are bigger, more important things than basketball rivalries...but that's a different post) I immediately looked at my mom and said....what an oxymoron....Devils united under the banner of Christ...I don't think that works. Clearly I was joking....but for tonight they are Devils to me. The lesser. The ugly. The enemy.
This is, in many people's opinion, the greatest rivalry in sports. It is for sure the greatest rivalry in college basketball and for most, the greatest rivalry in college sports. Tobacco Road IS college basketball. Carolina IS college basketball. And I guess I'll even let the other one have credit and say....Duke IS college basketball (it's that respect thing.) This is by far one of my favorite days of the year. Tune in at 9pm...I would suggest choosing the more beautiful and appealing Carolina blue uniform....but whatever you do embrace the rivalry for what it is. Something much greater than the score at the end of the night. But that counts for a lot too!
I'll leave you with this gem of an article...
Top 10 Reasons We All Hate Duke Please note, even a former player, who many fans rallied behind as one of the great Devils, hates Duke and shares the rest of our sentiments.
And the three stooges favorite phrase---
GO HEELS! GO AMERICA!
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