For me it has always been Red Sox - Yankees.
For others its been Ohio State - Michigan, Steelers - Ravens, or for all you soccer guys, Barcelona - Real Madrid.
Rivalries in sports have often times dictated our lives, and growing up in New England, they were all around me. But I’m in North Carolina now, and with professional sports nothing but an afterthought, people thrive on their college teams, especially Duke - North Carolina. The rivalry between the two is unlike any other in sports, and although I’ve only experienced it for a few months, it’s evident in all aspects of life.
Coined the “Tobacco Road Rivalry”, Duke and North Carolina are more than just competing teams and universities. The entire city of Chapel Hill is built around the Tar Heels, and those people bleed Carolina Blue. The same goes for the the city of Durham, only 8 miles away from UNC, where the Blue Devils are second only to God. The reliance on these student athletes is unparalleled; an all-out devotion that consumes so many facets of these Carolinians lives.
A few weeks back I was volunteering at a youth leadership conference at the Elon Community Church. These kids were 7th and 8th graders who were seeking to improve on and learn more about their leadership capabilities. I was given my group of 36 students, assigned to teach them about failures and how to deal with them, and I brought them to our designated room. I told them to sit in a circle and introduce themselves by stating their name and maybe a cool fun fact about themselves. What amazed me was that nobody shared a fun fact. The first kid stood up and said, “Hi my names Mark, and I’m a Duke fan”. All the others students jaws dropped, some even seemed angry. The next boy said, ‘I’m Hunter and I’m a Carolina fan”. He looked at Mark with an evil grin, and the trend continued throughout the room.
In the end I think there was a perfect split, 50% Duke, 50% North Carolina. I couldn’t help but laugh a little. Some of these kids were deathly afraid to present in front of the group, but when talking about their team, they instantly had all the confidence in the world. These kids couldn't name the presidential candidates or tell me the author of Harry Potter, but they could name the entire 2015-16 Duke basketball roster or just how many points Carolina beat the Blue Devils by last season. The Duke - North Carolina rivalry is not taken lightly down here, and this is just one example that proves that.
I drove through the Chapel Hill’s campus last week and saw nothing but Carolina Blue. My friend, who grew up there, dared me to yell “Go Duke!” out the window at the passing students. It seemed like a simple task to me, but little did I know that on those sacred grounds, that phrase was a declaration of war. I began to roll down the window and he looked at me like I was crazy, shutting the window and shaking his head. “Are you crazy? I was kidding, you’d be killed”. It reminded me of when I went to the last Red Sox - Yankees game at the old Yankee Stadium. I was deep in Yankee territory, the left field grandstand to be exact, and it only took 3 innings until brawls erupted all around me. But this was PROFESSIONAL sports, this was Sox - Yanks. I didn't think there was anything else like it, and then I came here.
UNC and Duke are probably 30-45 minuted from Elon’s campus, and being the obsessive college basketball fan that I am, you know I’m gonna try to go to some games. The average Duke basketball ticket goes for about $100, expensive given that its only college basketball, but expected given the historic value of the venue that is Cameron Indoor Stadium. Not willing to pay $100 to see Duke demolish Boston College? Have fun paying $1,000 to see them host UNC, and that’s for the CHEAPEST seats.The same price gap exists in Chapel Hill. Want to see the Tar Heels host Tennessee, a team that is constantly ranked in the top 25, just throw down around $30, easy. Want to see them host the Blue Devils in their annual early March matchup, one which holds weight in both the ACC and national polls year after year? Be ready to pay a light $500, for last row seats in the nose bleeds of the massive Dean Dome. But when you watch these games on TV, the stadiums are far from empty, they’re actually jam packed because people pay these prices. You may ask for the new Apple Watch or a TV this Christmas, but I can guarantee you that in North Carolina, kids are begging for Duke - UNC tickets.
It’s a rivalry that I know little about, one that I’ve never truly experienced myself, but one that continues to intrigue me as I spend more and more time here. I’m excited for the winter not because of the snow, but because it means college basketball. And around here, that means Duke - UNC.
