NotebookDuke vs. UNC — Which Side Are You On? And Why?
(This is an updated version of the original post.)
The Greatest College Basketball Rivalry Ever resumed this week.
Duke vs. Carolina. At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 9, they threw down. Carolina absolutely torched Duke in the first half, led 43-29 at the break, and my wife looked at me and simply said, "I am sad."
Duke jumped on the comeback train and won, 79-73, and Katie went to bed happy.
If you read this blog last night, you already heard this, but there aren't enough comments yet for me to be satisfied. When I posted this yesterday afternoon, I didn't know who I was pulling for. I eventually decided, and I'll write about that sometime in the next few days.
Meanwhile, I want to know: Which team is yours, and why?
I love it. I freaking love it. I love rivalries. I never fully understand them in sports, but there's lots about sports I don't understand. It's why I couldn't hack it as a baseball player. I overthink things. Like, way overthink them.
But this one is part of me same as any rules my parents taught me. I grew up a short drive from Tobacco Road. I've seen games in Cameron (shoutout to my cousin-in-law Seth for hooking us up with those tickets!) and in the Smith Center. (Cameron wins that contest, hands-down.)
For me, it was no easy call. Others bleed royal or sky blue.
My best friend, the guy who asked me to be his best man in his wedding, he's a Carolina fan. His whole family likes Carolina, I'm pretty sure.
But my greatest best friend, my wife, Katie—she loves Duke. Her whole family does.
My dad? North Carolina State fan. That's just unhelpful.
My brothers? Huge Carolina fans. They want to beat me for even implying I may possibly slightly barely like Duke.
For the record: Major respect for Coach K and what he's done with Duke—not to mention Team USA. But also for Roy Williams, and man, Carolina's got a heck of a legacy.
And so alas, we be torn asunder on the inside, hard-pressed to choose between two dynasties.
Where do you stand? And most importantly, why? And most importantly, why? Join the debate in the comments.
The best argument in the comments win a free copy of The Edge of Legend, autographed by me and Ant.
Reader Comments (8)
Unc. Because well... #kendallmarshall
And Tyler Hansbrough, never has a player gotten more out of his talents. He is an inspiration to us all.
One player isn't a reason to pull for a team.
One player may not be, but when you go into the Dean dome and look up at those rafters....you just get chills....its a beautiful thing.....a glimpse of heaven even!!!!
Jason- I've been to both the Dean Dome and Cameron many times.... and to be completely honest, the talent hanging up in both the rafters are both pretty incredible.
Because I like the color Carolina Blue better than dark blue! haha! Katie would appreciate this comment! :)
Hahaha, thanks A-go that's still the best reason I've ever heard :)
The runner up reason being- when a guy said it was obvious who to pull for. "UNC" is in North Carolina, why would you pull against your own state. He didn't have much to say after I informed him that Duke was too, a NC school. :)
My aunt used to work at Duke Hospital and used to bring me Duke hats and shirts. My Grandad got me into basketball at an early age. By age 4 or so, I realized that there was a basketball team associated with all these cool shirts, stuffed blue devils, and hats. Ever since then I've watched every game I could and only grew into a bigger fan. My Grandad fought cancer for 6 years and the main reason he lasted that long was him staying active in basketball and Duke hospital giving him great treatment. I watched a lot of games with him until he passed away my junior year of high school. All of this eventually built up into me being one of the biggest, most annoying Duke fans I know and a hatred of UNC. I cannot argue that UNC does not have a great program but I guess it's safe to say I respectfully hate them. Go Duke!