"But Dad, what if she likes the tarheels?"

[moonpie23]

that was the question my son asked as we were bringing our newborn daughter home from the hospital.

I replied, "i don't know son, what if she does?"

while he gazed at the newborn, he calmly said in a deliberate voice. "we'll just take her back".


and so it started...his fear that somehow his little sister would fall to the dark side. and even tho i have those thoughts run thru my head occasionally, i'm sure some folks on this board have already DEALT with mixed family allegiances. Family members can get really hostile about team choices.


i remember when was a kid about 6 yr old. my older brother was a big fan of the Milwaukee Brewers and i decided i was gonna be a NY Yankees fan. He showed me the mechanics of the operation of a "tack hammer" and told me: "mom and dad won't ALWAYS be around you know "

how do you do it?

[Jackson]

My brother graduated from Kerolina. We deal with it by not speaking during basketball season.

[brevity]

That's one conscientious older child. It's good to think ahead. Strong upbringing should come very close to eliminating the possibility.

The first real threat is during her rebellious pre-adolescence, where she considers the uglier shade of blue as a means to tick her family off, and not for any genuine interest. Relax; it's probably a phase.

The next real threat is during her teenage years when she faces peer pressure from classmates who are Carolina fans themselves or (more likely) belong to Carolina families. This is trickier. Do your best to teach her to rise above the rivalry as best she can, limiting her interactions to good-natured ribbing when she's exposed to their element. She'll soon learn that the humorless opposition isn't worth further visits, at least until the offseason.

I don't really have a suggestion for the third possible obstacle: the UNC-leaning boyfriend. Maybe move to another state? Good luck.

This goes off-topic, but the real dilemma comes when a long-suffering fan (say, of the Chicago Cubs) has to decide whether he or she should indoctrinate a child into a potential lifetime of misery. As with religion, I would suggest that you present the options to your children and let them make up their own mind.

[mr shadow 008]

Both my mom and my younger brother are carolina fans. i am the only duke fan in the house the best way to deal with it if she does become a carolina fan is to just try and have some fun with it thats what we do.

[Morris614]

If you see any signs of her liking Carolina, just get her into dance and things like that so she wont be into sports.

[Misunderestimated]

If you see any signs of her liking Carolina, just get her into dance and things like that so she wont be into sports.

Ballet, Barbie Dolls, liking carolina...all related. I wouldn't be too concerned for my young daughter.

[Devilsfan]

Put her in a home for wayward girls.

[DukeGirl4ever]

This is my first post, but I feel it's an appropriate one. I have been a Duke fan since I was in 5th grade...the Hurley/Laettner days. I was REALLY starting to get interested in basketball and Duke was always on TV, so it was a logical fit.

I had my first child in Sept. of 2007 and I was hoping that I would have some type of tradition/love to pass on to my daughter. She's now 2 and 1/2 and after spending the first 2 years of her life sitting on my lap watching Duke games, she now comes up to me while I'm watching "non-Duke" games and says, "Mom, me want come sit with you and watch Duke." This brings pure joy and tears to my eyes!

A funny story happened last week when we were at Red Lobster. The Turd Heels were on one of the TVs there and they were playing NC State. My daughter yelled as loud as she possibly could, "GO DUKE, GO DUKE!"

So, to answer the question, a STRONG upbringing will help solidify a child's love for the Dukies
(although not all the time...)

Thanks for allowing me to be a part of this board!

[Kedsy]

This is my first post, but I feel it's an appropriate one. I have been a Duke fan since I was in 5th grade...the Hurley/Laettner days. I was REALLY starting to get interested in basketball and Duke was always on TV, so it was a logical fit.

I had my first child in Sept. of 2007 and I was hoping that I would have some type of tradition/love to pass on to my daughter. She's now 2 and 1/2 and after spending the first 2 years of her life sitting on my lap watching Duke games, she now comes up to me while I'm watching "non-Duke" games and says, "Mom, me want come sit with you and watch Duke." This brings pure joy and tears to my eyes!

A funny story happened last week when we were at Red Lobster. The Turd Heels were on one of the TVs there and they were playing NC State. My daughter yelled as loud as she possibly could, "GO DUKE, GO DUKE!"

So, to answer the question, a STRONG upbringing will help solidify a child's love for the Dukies
(although not all the time...)

Thanks for allowing me to be a part of this board!

Welcome, and keep up the good work.

[moonpie23]

has to decide whether he or she should indoctrinate a child into a potential lifetime of misery.

see title of thread...

[moonpie23]

I had my first child in Sept. of 2007

my daughter, Stella Rose, was born june 19, 2007.

the rest of the story is that she has an adversion to baby blue and sits on my lap watching duke games yelling. GO DUKE !!

[IBleedBlue]

I proposed to my girlfriend a month ago and I asked two questions instead of one...

Me: Do you like Carolina?
She: a looong nooo!!!

Me: Then Marry me
She: giggles...tears...and "Yes"

I never cared what team she supported. All I cared was she didn't support carolina.

[DukeGirl4ever]

my daughter, Stella Rose, was born june 19, 2007.

the rest of the story is that she has an adversion to baby blue and sits on my lap watching duke games yelling. GO DUKE !!

Madison particularly likes Jon and "Ty" (she can't say Kyle).
I'm hoping that as she gets older, she'll want to go to Duke, and thus can help me get tickets to a game one day.

[striker219]

As with religion, I would suggest that you present the options to your children and let them make up their own mind.

There are some situations in life in which this is the best thing to do for your child. My personal belief is that religion is one such situation. The subject at hand is just too important though to leave to chance. You need to get butts in the seats at Cameron before she's able to form full sentences, and start forming some lasting memories. Sure, at some point she may have an "I wish I could quit you" moment with the dark blue, and she may briefly hate you for putting her down that path, but it will pass and your relationship will be stronger because of it.

[Cell-R]

My dad is a UNC graduate. How my granddad (Duke Alum) brainwashed me at an early age, I do not know. Thank God he did.

The toughest thing about growing up a Duke fan is dealing with your Carolina friends. I would venture to say about 75% of my close friends are Tarheel fans (or were, before they were forced to convert to NC State fans). The last five years have not been easy ones to deal with!

That's changing though.

It all comes down to where your child goes to school. If for some reason she does become a unc "sympathizer", if you can keep her from hating Duke you might be fine. Even if I was a carolina fan I would take the chance to attend Duke if I was accepted! Luckily I didn't have to deal with that scenario.

[duke98]

My brother, who posts here also, was born when I was 10. He too went through that rebellious phase where he rooted for the rival of our family's sports teams: We were Redskins fans, he rooted for the Cowboys. We were Orioles fans, he became a Yankees fan.

He was 7 when I started my freshman year at Duke and became a Blue Devil fan. He did have a very brief phase where he decided to be a Tar Heel fan, just to piss me off, but I'm happy to report it didn't stick. He's too smart for that.

[soccerstud2210]

I proposed to my girlfriend a month ago and I asked two questions instead of one...

Me: Do you like Carolina?
She: a looong nooo!!!

Me: Then Marry me
She: giggles...tears...and "Yes"

I never cared what team she supported. All I cared was she didn't support carolina.

i as well just got engaged, as of february 12th... and that was one of the first questions i asked when we started dating a long time ago

[Morris614]

I proposed to my girlfriend a month ago and I asked two questions instead of one...

Me: Do you like Carolina?
She: a looong nooo!!!

Me: Then Marry me
She: giggles...tears...and "Yes"

I never cared what team she supported. All I cared was she didn't support carolina.

You dated her without knowing that?

[blueprofessor]

This is my first post, but I feel it's an appropriate one. I have been a Duke fan since I was in 5th grade...the Hurley/Laettner days. I was REALLY starting to get interested in basketball and Duke was always on TV, so it was a logical fit.

I had my first child in Sept. of 2007 and I was hoping that I would have some type of tradition/love to pass on to my daughter. She's now 2 and 1/2 and after spending the first 2 years of her life sitting on my lap watching Duke games, she now comes up to me while I'm watching "non-Duke" games and says, "Mom, me want come sit with you and watch Duke." This brings pure joy and tears to my eyes!

A funny story happened last week when we were at Red Lobster. The Turd Heels were on one of the TVs there and they were playing NC State. My daughter yelled as loud as she possibly could, "GO DUKE, GO DUKE!"

So, to answer the question, a STRONG upbringing will help solidify a child's love for the Dukies
(although not all the time...)

Thanks for allowing me to be a part of this board!

Thank you and please have many more children!
Best--Blueprofessor

[DukeGirl4ever]

Thank you and please have many more children!
Best--Blueprofessor

HAHA! This one was a "surprise." If I had my way, her name would be Cameron, but I think I pushed the issue when we named our dog Duke.