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In The Godfather Part II, Michael Corleone famously says ‘keep your friends close but keep your foes closer’. Separated by a meager 8 miles Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill men’s basketball teams, participate in one of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. Their proximity only serves to fuel the intensity as these two highly dissimilar schools (Duke is a private university while UNC is the jewel of he multi-school NC university system) compete for students, academic distinction, and of course bragging rights on Tobacco Road. Tobacco Road is the informal moniker given to a short stretch of Interstate 40 that passes through the tobacco constructing region of North Carolina, and passes within a short distance of Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Caroline State University, and Wake Forest University; all members of the ACC. In this region of the country, college basketball reigns supreme and even the most casual fan knows the divergence among Carolina Blue and Duke Blue. The initial basketball game of this epic rivalry was played way back in 1920, when Duke (still known as Trinity College) lost to UNC by a score of 36 – 25. For the next 40 years the rivalry remained one of friendly contest merely due to the schools proximity to each other. Like all outstanding rivalries, things actually started to heat up when tempers started out to flare. The basi hints of unfeigned animosity occurred in the 1960s when UNC’s Larry Brown (future NBA Hall of Fame Coach) got into a brawl with Duke star Art Heyman. Both players were finally suspended. The rivalry reached new heights in the 1980s when both schools were being led by two of the most successful (and competitive) coaches in college basketball, Dean Smith at UNC and Mike Krzyzewski. Between 1982 to 1993 both teams would win 2 National titles each, UNC in 1982 and 1993, and Duke in 1991 & 1992. The rivalry has only intensified as both teams have systematically been rated in the Top 25, and since both are normally competing for the ACC title and an NCAA berth, each victory is that much sweeter. If familiarity breeds contempt, these two schools recognise each other well sufficient to be bitter enemies. How systematically good have UNC and Duke been?
The intensity of this rivalry occasionally appears to even defy logic. On the Duke campus for example, where tickets to all varsity sports are free, students will line up for hours to get tickets. The most devoted fans, the Cameron Crazies, are known to “tent” during one night in a grassy area near Cameron Indoor Stadium commonly known as Krzyzewskiville. For a mid-February game versus UNC, tents will begin popping up before Spring classes even start. So whether you bleed Carolina or Duke Blue, or plainly love to watch two two outstanding contenders step up and give it their all, the Duke – UNC rivalry will never disappoint. |
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