"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! :p

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! :p

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. :D

[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. :D

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! :p

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!:D
Best--Blueprofessor:)

[DukeGirl4ever]

Thank you and please have many more children!:D
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.

[oldnavy]

My wife and yongest son (17) are both tarheel fans. I have been together with my wife for over 30 years, and to this day we do not watch the Duke/UNC game in the same room. True love is about sacrifice, and we both have learned over the years to care for each others needs and wants... except when it comes to basketball, then we are all on our own, may the best team win!! The one thing we have learned over the years is to not gloat after a win... Not so much with my son... we are brutal with each other. :D

[Indoor66]

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.

A public welcome to the board. We can always use another fan.

[dukestheheat]

This is a good question, actually.

Around here, we use tremendous peer pressure to force feed the love of Duke. I mean, the force is, at times, unbearable. And, we double shame the few in the family (distant types who got lucky by 'marrying in' or stuff like that, you know, NO BLOOD ties or anything like that....) who show allegiance to the holes.

If any children persist in their interest in Carowhina, then we get them intensive counseling. They have to pay for it.

dukestheheat.

[ChemGod]

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.

You gotta game up, friend!

My middle son is named Grant...:D

E

[basket1544]

My little brother has been a Carolina fan since just about birth (he'll be 25 on senior night this year and hopefully won't have a good birthday). It's a rebellious thing. Mom at least brought me up right. Unfortunately I couldn't send him back. :)
-Basket1544

[HateCarolina]

I was just logging in to check the Duke/VT pre-game threads and saw this particular thread. I read each and every entry laughing and smiling the entire time....had to read the ones about the engagement questions to my wife b/c that was something I knew basically from the beginning (the fact that she is Swedish helps since she had no pre-me allegiance).

We just had our first daughter on 1/12/10 and she has been on my lap for every game so far along with her Duke baby hat and her Duke pacifier(s). I did go ahead and put her Duke "onesie" on (along with the other gear) for the Crapolina game (her first step into full indoctrination) and made sure to take plenty of pictures so she will always be able to remember her first Duke/Carolina game.

I myself did not attend Duke, but my Dad is a 1969 graduate and has always "guided" me in my allegiance to the proper school and has also fostered my "healthy dislike" for the dump next door. I hope to do the same for my daughter and any future children we may have with the ultimate hopes that they will not screw off in high school (as I did) and make it through to Duke University's class of 2032.

Funny enough my Uncle went to Carolina, but he seems to be one of the more low-key fans (he lives in Boston, so that may be part of the reason); however after their win last April my cousin's Facebook page was updated with her elations (eventhough she has just graduated from Syracuse). Me of course being the more mature older cousin posted my absolute disdain for her post and have thus started a new healthy "ribbing" with her and my Uncle.

In fact, I believe I will have to send them a link to this thread since I believe as fairly intelligent people they will appreciate the humor and passion in this thread.

Thanks again for this wonderful and timely thread topic.

Now on to the Duke/VT game....go Blue Devils!!!

[BD80]

Put her in a home for wayward girls.

I thought Carolina WAS a place for wayward girls. At least the ones that I knew!


You dated her without knowing that?

I am going to stand up for Carolina girls, many have a touch of the "Old South" and a wonderful accent. I truly love southern hospitality.

Of course, I found that Duke-Carolina relationships cannot survive the basketball season. But they were well worthwhile while they lasted!



Back to the original question, let's say she decides in her teens that she is a tarheel: I am generally against late-term abortions, but this could be the extrordinary circumstances in which it would be justified. I would recommend adoption, I am sure there is a strong market among Carolina fans for children that can read for them.

[DukieInKansas]

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?

From your son's question and reasoning, he is obviously very intelligent. I would assume that intelligence runs in the family and that, therefore, you won't have to worry about your daughter's future fandom.

[LSanders]

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!"

Sweet!!!!!!!! ;)

[LSanders]

I thought Carolina WAS a place for wayward girls. At least the ones that I knew!

When I was in grad school, I became good friends with a Tarhole, that I assumed was admitted as part of some charitable trust deal ... Anyway, we were walking down Franklin Street, and there's a statue of some Civil War soldier holding a rifle. She said he's known as Silent Sam. Legend has it that he'll fire off his weapon if a virgin ever passes by. Thus, the name! :rolleyes:

[davekay1971]

I thought Carolina WAS a place for wayward girls. At least the ones that I knew!.

POTD already!

Just to add to that, my ex-wife was a Duke girl and my wife is a State girl. There will be no marriage to a Tarheel for a couple simple reasons. (1) I'm extremely happy and intend for my marriage to last for the rest of my life. (2) You just don't bring a Carolina girl home to momma (particularly not a momma who graduated from State, as my momma did).

So what about the kids' allegiances in my own home? Well, my kids from my first marriage are 10 and 7 and have been properly indoctrinated as Duke fans who hate Carolina. My daughter from this marriage is 15 months and has a NCSU bib, sippy cup, and onesy. My wife and I agree on most everything, but she's adamant that Christina's going to be a State girl, and I don't like sleeping on the couch :D

[revmel53]

I come from a long line of Dukies... When our first child was born, a daughter, friends thought they would have a good time with us by giving the baby Tarheel booties... "We've got to get her started out right!" was the message. I responded: "Thank you so much for these... Had not been we who received them, some poor child's life would have begun in a hole without having the chance to fight back... We will make sure that these receive their due... and go out with a blaze!" And so it started... Our third child is a high honor student, who received a prestigious award as our state's most accomplished middle school student several years ago. When one of my brothers asked me: "What would you do if she were to receive an then accept a Morehead Scholarship to UNC?" I quickly responded: "I would move her clothes out to the front porch and tell her it was nice knowing her and that we wished her the best!" No such chance though - because she comes from a long line of Dukies, she has way too much wisdom and class to make such a mistake...