Duke Carolina Basketball Rivalry
One of the most important basketball games of the season is underway tonight. In my opinion it's the most important, but I bet people from other states would have different ideas. One of the great things about being back in the South is the amount of understanding that comes from the Duke Carolina game. Teachers assign less or no homework, everyone's wearing a shade of blue, and bars are going to be full up long before tip-off.
How long has the Duke Carolina Rivalry been around? We know that the game of basketball was invented in the latter part of the 19th century by Dr. James Naismith, who started it in Springfield Massachusetts. It originally began as a game called duck-on-a-rock in which balls were used to knock a decoy off a high place. In 1936 it was introduced in the Berlin Olympics as an Olympic level game but was in many YMCAs by 1893. What about college basketball? As early as 1895 there were women's championship games, specifically among Northern and Western Schools. And in 1910 the NCAA was officially named and founded. So somewhere between 1891 and 1910, men began playing basketball at college. I'm no historian, but I'm going to guess the Duke Carolina rivalry came shortly after.
Today it's turned into one of the most heated rivalries in existence. Being only 9 miles apart and both teams being the winner of multiple championship, the stress and tension that build leading up to a Duke UNC game. Anyone that's been in Chapel Hill or Durham during one knows what I'm talking about. In the past, occasionally, there has been a lot of mayhem associated with the games as well- burning cars, bonfires, fights, public drunkeness (does that even count?), toilet papering, slurs, etc.
But it's important and we all have our own traditions associated with the game. I wear only blue and white jewelry, a UNC t-shirt, jeans, and shoes that blend. Who knows why, but I won't wear any other colors on that day. I want to make sure that I'm not jinxing the team in any way. One of my professors confessed that he did not leave his blue leather chair during Carolina Duke games for fear that would have an affect on the outcome.
Tonight is an important one for a large number of North Carolinians and a large number of others. When I was in Italy there were UNC ball caps everywhere, which I found entertaining. One of my friends who is moving to Rome plans on watching the UNC games via the internet once she's settled, since she'll be moving before March Madness sets in.
Ending as a true UNC fan, I'll go with the fight song, which everyone should know...
I'm a Tar Heel born, and a Tar Heel bred
and when i die I'll be Tar Heel dead
So it's rah-rah Carolina-lina, rah-rah Car'lina lina
rah rah Car'lina lina
GO TO HELL DUKE.
How long has the Duke Carolina Rivalry been around? We know that the game of basketball was invented in the latter part of the 19th century by Dr. James Naismith, who started it in Springfield Massachusetts. It originally began as a game called duck-on-a-rock in which balls were used to knock a decoy off a high place. In 1936 it was introduced in the Berlin Olympics as an Olympic level game but was in many YMCAs by 1893. What about college basketball? As early as 1895 there were women's championship games, specifically among Northern and Western Schools. And in 1910 the NCAA was officially named and founded. So somewhere between 1891 and 1910, men began playing basketball at college. I'm no historian, but I'm going to guess the Duke Carolina rivalry came shortly after.
Today it's turned into one of the most heated rivalries in existence. Being only 9 miles apart and both teams being the winner of multiple championship, the stress and tension that build leading up to a Duke UNC game. Anyone that's been in Chapel Hill or Durham during one knows what I'm talking about. In the past, occasionally, there has been a lot of mayhem associated with the games as well- burning cars, bonfires, fights, public drunkeness (does that even count?), toilet papering, slurs, etc.
But it's important and we all have our own traditions associated with the game. I wear only blue and white jewelry, a UNC t-shirt, jeans, and shoes that blend. Who knows why, but I won't wear any other colors on that day. I want to make sure that I'm not jinxing the team in any way. One of my professors confessed that he did not leave his blue leather chair during Carolina Duke games for fear that would have an affect on the outcome.
Tonight is an important one for a large number of North Carolinians and a large number of others. When I was in Italy there were UNC ball caps everywhere, which I found entertaining. One of my friends who is moving to Rome plans on watching the UNC games via the internet once she's settled, since she'll be moving before March Madness sets in.
Ending as a true UNC fan, I'll go with the fight song, which everyone should know...
I'm a Tar Heel born, and a Tar Heel bred
and when i die I'll be Tar Heel dead
So it's rah-rah Carolina-lina, rah-rah Car'lina lina
rah rah Car'lina lina
GO TO HELL DUKE.
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