Carolina - Duke

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Carolina – Duke game tomorrow night.  I guess that’s not surprising given my background – I was, after all, quite literally Tar Heel born and bred, and spent the first 26 years of my life watching the epic battles in the best collegiate rivalry in all of sports.

But tomorrow I’ll watch my first Carolina – Duke game north of the Mason Dixon line, only a short hop across the Hudson River away from bonafide Blue Devil country.  To counter what will undoubtedly be a foreign experience, Tracy and I are hosting about twenty of our New York friends for a viewing party of the big game.

What’s interesting is the vast majority of the attendees have no direct attachment to either of the teams.  So I’ve been thinking a lot about how to possibly portray the phenomenon that happens to occur each year along Tobacco Road.

I guess Tobacco Road is a good place to start when thinking about the rivalry.  By now it’s fairly common knowledge, thanks to the persistent efforts of ESPN and mainstream media, that the schools are separated by the infamous eight miles of pine-lined highway and two shades of blue.  What’s not as apparent to outsiders is the ideological chasm of indescribable proportions which exists between the two institutions.  It’s not just public vs. private or rich vs. middle class.  In fact, for many on both sides, it’s much simpler - good vs. evil.

I learned as much at an early age with a little help from my late grandmother who happened to be a graduate (gasp!) of the aforementioned university from Durham. After many years of living in Chapel Hill, including more than 30 working for the UNC, it was abundantly clear that any allegiance to her alma mater was a distant memory.  As if to further clarify things, you could often hear her humming a favorite tune while baking in the kitchen in the hours preceding the big game – the tune is not as important as the distinguishing lyrics - “I don’t give a damn about Duke University”.

That’s how it was growing up in North Carolina, especially during elementary and middle school years when just about every kid not only had an allegiance but proudly wore the colors for everyone to see.  By age 10, the label of “Carolina fan” or “Duke guy” was perhaps as important a distinguishing characteristic in the social scene as popularity or athletic ability would prove to be in later years.  It was life and death on a weekly basis for all of us, courtesy of some athletic young men in increasingly baggy shorts and two Hall of Fame coaches.

You can imagine, then, why one of my favorite memories from childhood is Jerry Stackhouse’s dunk and strut over Cherokee Parks and Erik Meek – or as UNC color man Mick Mixon put it - “almost 14 feet of Duke post players”.  It was the same feeling I felt close to 5 years later, sprinting like mad for Franklin Street after Joseph Forte led the Heels into Cameron and stole one from the heavily favored Devils.  And even years after graduation, the feeling comes back, like when Danny Green elevated himself over Greg Paulus and into the confines of Carolina – Duke nostalgia for all-time.

Green joins the pantheon which includes Art Heyman’s right hook, “8 points in 17 seconds”, Marvin’s put back in 2005 and the Jeff Capel buzzer beater (in a game the Devils lost!), among others.  It’s a history littered with great moments and epic performances.

It’s a history which adds another chapter tomorrow night.

Hark the Sound!

(Photo credit: Zeke Smith)