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78Devil
03-24-2013, 07:52 PM
Why should I root for Kansas over Carolina?

I do. I did. The idea of Carolina winning (when we could still lose) made me ill. I LOVED watching them fall apart.

But now it is over, I am wondering what is wrong with me. Why shouldn't I root for our conference? I really don't like Kansas, which is arrogant.

I really need to get back to where I was before Roy -root for any ACC team except when they play us....

Anyone else struggle with this?

ynotme32
03-24-2013, 07:56 PM
Not in the least....ABC!

El_Diablo
03-24-2013, 07:57 PM
Why should I root for Kansas over Carolina?

I do. I did. The idea of Carolina winning (when we could still lose) made me ill. I LOVED watching them fall apart.

But now it is over, I am wondering what is wrong with me. Why shouldn't I root for our conference? I really don't like Kansas, which is arrogant.

I really need to get back to where I was before Roy -root for any ACC team except when they play us....

Anyone else struggle with this?

I am guessing you do not live in North Carolina.

MartyClark
03-24-2013, 07:57 PM
Why should I root for Kansas over Carolina?

I do. I did. The idea of Carolina winning (when we could still lose) made me ill. I LOVED watching them fall apart.

But now it is over, I am wondering what is wrong with me. Why shouldn't I root for our conference? I really don't like Kansas, which is arrogant.

I really need to get back to where I was before Roy -root for any ACC team except when they play us....

Anyone else struggle with this?

Short answer, nothing. Nothing is wrong with you. I kind of like Roy. I think I like their current players, they seem like okay guys. It's the NC fanbase that is intolerable and it's okay to root against the Heels. If the stuff I read on IC is representative of their fan base, and maybe it's not, it's perfectly acceptable to root against the Heels at every level.

JBDuke
03-24-2013, 07:59 PM
Here's something for the Carolina haters in us all:

http://gif.mocksession.com/2013/03/crying-unc-fan/

OZZIE4DUKE
03-24-2013, 08:00 PM
Nothing is wrong with you! Abso-F'ing-lutely nothing! Go To HELL carolina!

78Devil
03-24-2013, 08:02 PM
Well, I don't live in Carolina. And that probably explains it. The only UNC fans in Texas are "fairweather" fans leftover from their Natties. But I still can't root for them. I would love to know how I would have felt if we played earlier in the day and had won. I actually think I might have rooted for them to knock off Kansas, knowing they would lose in the next round, but enjoying the commentators eating a little "the ACC sucks" crow.

Who am I kidding.

arnie
03-24-2013, 08:04 PM
Short answer, nothing. Nothing is wrong with you. I kind of like Roy. I think I like their current players, they seem like okay guys. It's the NC fanbase that is intolerable and it's okay to root against the Heels. If the stuff I read on IC is representative of their fan base, and maybe it's not, it's perfectly acceptable to root against the Heels at every level.

Yes,IC mirrors local Holes fans limited thoughts.

dukeofcalabash
03-24-2013, 08:05 PM
Why should I root for Kansas over Carolina?

I do. I did. The idea of Carolina winning (when we could still lose) made me ill. I LOVED watching them fall apart.

But now it is over, I am wondering what is wrong with me. Why shouldn't I root for our conference? I really don't like Kansas, which is arrogant.

I really need to get back to where I was before Roy -root for any ACC team except when they play us....

Anyone else struggle with this?

Nope! They've been cheating for over 5 decades now and I've always pulled against them for it. Touble nowadays is that nearly everyone else is slipping in the academically ungifted.

ynotme32
03-24-2013, 08:05 PM
I grew up in Asheville, NC (Roy's hometown), and I went to school back when it was clearly UNC then everyone else in the ACC. I graduated in '87 when Coach K was just coming on to the scene with his Dawkins, Amaker, Henderson, Alerie group, so I had to deal with a lot of chatter from the UNC fans as a child since I was about the only one in my school pulling for Duke. I can remember MANY times when UNC fans would drive by my house late at night after UNC beat Duke and honk their horns, roll my yard, and other things just to irritate me. So yes, I will never EVER pull for UNC to win anything in any sport period. Their fans have ruined them for me. I don't struggle with it either, what comes around goes around, just glad I lived to see it!

OldPhiKap
03-24-2013, 08:07 PM
Screw the Heels, good luck to the rest of the conference.

I have tried to pull for the Heels in regular season games where a loss by their opponent helps us. Can't do it. 9F is a prime directive.

Wander
03-24-2013, 08:07 PM
Why shouldn't I root for our conference?

Why should you? Who cares? I've always thought conference pride was vastly overrated, and even more so with all the realignment garbage going on.

Don't get me wrong - if Boston College is playing Iowa State or something random like that, I'll root for the ACC team. But conference affiliation is pretty far down in the line of rooting priorities for me...

brevity
03-24-2013, 08:11 PM
Why shouldn't I root for our conference?

Because it doesn't matter. According to future Blake Griffin, Sugarland Bakery (http://www.sugarlandchapelhill.com/) has a vote in 2027 to award the 2013 championship to UNC.

Moral: root against Carolina like there's no tomorrow.

WiJoe
03-24-2013, 08:12 PM
... and 'kenny' smith says he'd never cheer for that school in Durham after being asked if he would be cheering for kansas, like huck is now.

Scr=w you, kenneth.

MaxAMillion
03-24-2013, 08:19 PM
I really don't understand the question. Why should you root for the holes? They never root for Duke. Their fans cheer when Duke players get injured or when Coack K collapsed on the sideline. Why would you root for UNC? I think something is wrong with you for even questioning yourself.

-bdbd
03-24-2013, 08:26 PM
I know exactly what you are feeling! I used to be very proud to be a part of a conference where the teams all rooted for one another in the NCAAT and elsewhere, when not paired against each other. That was in the 70's and 80's. Not coincidentally, the league's biggest fanbase used to brag about that too, when they were frequently the best in the league and the last ACC team standiing in the NCAAT (and wanted the rest of the league to support them). But, at least in my mind, we slowly learned what those fans were really made of as Duke gradually became the dominant team in the league. Once Duke was usually the best/last ACC team standing, then they decided that they didn't like that and forgot all about "supporting one another," and began rooting very aggressively against us. ABD.

I tend to be a polite fan, and love to engage fellow ACC fans of other teams at venues like the ACCT. In G'boro I chatted amicably with fans from UNC, State, FSU sitting near me on Fri. and Sat. But my experience last week in Greensboro, Fri night, sitting in front of a few very loud, filthy-mouthed and downright obnoxious small group of NC fans who were rooting for MD as if their lives depended on it, left me with ZERO hesitation re. rooting for the total demise of their d*mn team. (Seriously, EVERY time K even stood up, or walked near a ref, the screaming was an endless stream of invectives..."SIT DOWN K, you F'ing D-bag!!" "You're SUCH a G*d D*mn disgusting liar/pervert/racist!" Every single call that went Duke's way was made by "A bunch of f'ing blind and bribed stupid SOB idiot refs..." They screamed obscenities at every Duke FT, and tried to intimidate any Duke fan who dared make a peep during MD FT's. And of course ALL Duke players were either A-holes or F@gs... )



So, no, be proud. ABC baby! Now and forever... :)

lotusland
03-24-2013, 08:43 PM
They are evil and should be loathed. So it is written, so it shall be...

Ima Facultiwyfe
03-24-2013, 08:45 PM
Here's something for the Carolina haters in us all:

http://gif.mocksession.com/2013/03/crying-unc-fan/

Funny. I tuned in for about 30 seconds of that game and saw this very clip. He was reacting to a lousy play by the heels with an OMG was that ever ugly.... yuck!

I had to go back to the kitchen and finish dinner then.

Tuned back in with four minutes to go. The camera panned the UNC bench. Down nine points and they were sitting there all down in the mouth, having already thrown the towel. FOUR minutes and only NINE points! I don't get it. I guess their fans were filing out at that point as well, bless their hearts.
Love, Ima

CatDevil
03-24-2013, 08:48 PM
I know exactly what you are feeling! I used to be very proud to be a part of a conference where the teams all rooted for one another in the NCAAT and elsewhere, when not paired against each other. That was in the 70's and 80's. Not coincidentally, the league's biggest fanbase used to brag about that too, when they were frequently the best in the league and the last ACC team standiing in the NCAAT (and wanted the rest of the league to support them). But, at least in my mind, we slowly learned what those fans were really made of as Duke gradually became the dominant team in the league. Once Duke was usually the best/last ACC team standing, then they decided that they didn't like that and forgot all about "supporting one another," and began rooting very aggressively against us. ABD.

I tend to be a polite fan, and love to engage fellow ACC fans of other teams at venues like the ACCT. In G'boro I chatted amicably with fans from UNC, State, FSU sitting near me on Fri. and Sat. But my experience last week in Greensboro, Fri night, sitting in front of a few very loud, filthy-mouthed and downright obnoxious small group of NC fans who were rooting for MD as if their lives depended on it, left me with ZERO hesitation re. rooting for the total demise of their d*mn team. (Seriously, EVERY time K even stood up, or walked near a ref, the screaming was an endless stream of invectives..."SIT DOWN K, you F'ing D-bag!!" "You're SUCH a G*d D*mn disgusting liar/pervert/racist!" Every single call that went Duke's way was made by "A bunch of f'ing blind and bribed stupid SOB idiot refs..." They screamed obscenities at every Duke FT, and tried to intimidate any Duke fan who dared make a peep during MD FT's. And of course ALL Duke players were either A-holes or F@gs... )

So, no, be proud. ABC baby! Now and forever... :)

I have to know what section you were sitting in? I was in Section 118 and my 10 year old son kept asking me why they were using all "those words" I was horrified
and only got a small amount of satisfaction when the Maryland fan above me shouted at the holes "keep cheering, you will be next" I laughed outloud because the fellow to my left looked ready to fight him. Anyway, words to live by....

Anybody But Carolina!

Newton_14
03-24-2013, 08:50 PM
Why should I root for Kansas over Carolina?

I do. I did. The idea of Carolina winning (when we could still lose) made me ill. I LOVED watching them fall apart.

But now it is over, I am wondering what is wrong with me. Why shouldn't I root for our conference? I really don't like Kansas, which is arrogant.

I really need to get back to where I was before Roy -root for any ACC team except when they play us....

Anyone else struggle with this?

I can never bring myself to pull for the baby blue. Can't do it. I will celebrate the conference accomplishment when defending the ACC with folks against other conferences including their FF's and National Titles, even though I pulled against them in every game.

Having spent 46 years in the Triangle surrounded by that fanbase it is not humanly possible to pull for them in any sport for any reason. Just can't go there.

jipops
03-24-2013, 09:02 PM
I can never bring myself to pull for the baby blue. Can't do it. I will celebrate the conference accomplishment when defending the ACC with folks against other conferences including their FF's and National Titles, even though I pulled against them in every game.

Having spent 46 years in the Triangle surrounded by that fanbase it is not humanly possible to pull for them in any sport for any reason. Just can't go there.

I feel the same way, though so many of my good friends are heels fans. I guess the sheer population mass provides for that probability. But as a whole, it is a massive, insufferable group. A program is inferior that is not UNC. Growing up here, I easily could have chosen to become a heels fan. But I knew I would just feel like one of the sheep. So I go for the inferior.

rthomas
03-24-2013, 09:22 PM
How about if I don't care one way or another?

elvis14
03-24-2013, 09:31 PM
Why should I root for Kansas over Carolina?

I do. I did. The idea of Carolina winning (when we could still lose) made me ill. I LOVED watching them fall apart.

But now it is over, I am wondering what is wrong with me. Why shouldn't I root for our conference? I really don't like Kansas, which is arrogant.

I really need to get back to where I was before Roy -root for any ACC team except when they play us....

Anyone else struggle with this?

No struggle what so ever. My two favorite teams are Duke and whoever is playing UNCheats. The only thing you need to fix is that small part of you that's trying to figure out why it shouldn't be ABC. You should move here to NC for a while, that'll fix you and then you move back home to Texas ;). I used to be OK with UNCheats before I moved here in 1991. That didn't last long. 9F, thank you Kansas!

I do wish that NCSU would have had a better showing and I hope that Miami keeps winning.

Furniture
03-24-2013, 09:39 PM
I have a daughter at Duke and one at UNC. My wife said to me during the game that she can't believe I don't root for UNC when they are not playing duke. I did feel a twinge of guilt....what's wrong with me?

_Gary
03-24-2013, 09:44 PM
I have a daughter at Duke and one at UNC. My wife said to me during the game that she can't believe I don't root for UNC when they are not playing duke. I did feel a twinge of guilt....what's wrong with me?

I'd feel guilty too if I let my daughter attend UNC. ;)


Just kidding. :cool:

jmck214
03-24-2013, 09:46 PM
Yeah I don't get rooting for UNC because its our conference. I guarantee you that all the other ACC schools fans will be pulling for Creighton tonight. I do agree that this years UNC team is not nearly as hateable as their past teams. A lot of that has to do with them not being all that good.

I don't live in NC but I have a friend who moved to Charlotte and he became a Duke fan just because of the obnoxious UNC fanbase so I have an idea of how annoying it must be to live there

Furniture
03-24-2013, 09:55 PM
I'd feel guilty too if I let my daughter attend UNC. ;)


Just kidding. :cool:

Nice one.

DukieInKansas
03-25-2013, 12:16 AM
I have a daughter at Duke and one at UNC. My wife said to me during the game that she can't believe I don't root for UNC when they are not playing duke. I did feel a twinge of guilt....what's wrong with me?

The guilt is because you love your misguided daughter.

I'm sure she is a remarkable young lady in all other respects - but her choice of schools is questionable.

throatybeard
03-25-2013, 12:49 AM
I grew up in Asheville, NC (Roy's hometown), and I went to school back when it was clearly UNC then everyone else in the ACC. I graduated in '87 when Coach K was just coming on to the scene with his Dawkins, Amaker, Henderson, Alerie group, so I had to deal with a lot of chatter from the UNC fans as a child since I was about the only one in my school pulling for Duke. I can remember MANY times when UNC fans would drive by my house late at night after UNC beat Duke and honk their horns, roll my yard, and other things just to irritate me. So yes, I will never EVER pull for UNC to win anything in any sport period. Their fans have ruined them for me. I don't struggle with it either, what comes around goes around, just glad I lived to see it!

I am so glad I don't live in North Carolina anymore. The pathological aggression of that fanbase is terrifying. Frankly, I don't rate them any higher than Maryland.

Props to KU.

OldPhiKap
03-25-2013, 07:14 AM
The guilt is because you love your misguided daughter.

I'm sure she is a remarkable young lady in all other respects - but her choice of schools is questionable.

Love the sinner, hate the sin.

G man
03-25-2013, 03:43 PM
This my fellow duke supporters is what we call a win win situation. Naturally like the rest of you I cheered for Kansas because cheering for UNC makes me want to puke, but if we take a look at the bigger picture if Kansas were to lose that game then it leaves one less quality team in the tournament (we could possibly see them if both parties made the championship game). Since Kansas won it kicked UNC out of the party that is the greatest tournament known to mankind. Love it!!!

G man
03-25-2013, 03:44 PM
I'd feel guilty too if I let my daughter attend UNC. ;)


Just kidding. :cool:

Awesome!!!

BlueTeuf
03-25-2013, 04:58 PM
Apparently, I am in the minority - but I root for the ACC, UNC included, in the Big Ten challenge, the NCAA tourney and the NIT. I really enjoy rooting for UNC in the NIT.

Bluealum
03-25-2013, 04:59 PM
Why should I root for Kansas over Carolina?

I do. I did. The idea of Carolina winning (when we could still lose) made me ill. I LOVED watching them fall apart.

But now it is over, I am wondering what is wrong with me. Why shouldn't I root for our conference? I really don't like Kansas, which is arrogant.

I really need to get back to where I was before Roy -root for any ACC team except when they play us....

Anyone else struggle with this?

I know the reply's are overwhelming in favor of the hate returned, but I for one can sympathize. I live in Charlotte, grew up in the ACC, and went to Duke. Was a fan 10 years before I went to school at Duke, so I did loathe UNC fans from Jordan/Worthy/Lebo on. If I venture out to a bar to watch hoops and Duke is playing, I can get very chippy with all the UNC yahoo's who have a shockingly venomous attitude towards us. After all these years it continues to surprise me (slow learner), but I ascribe it to a deep sense of inferiority much like State exhibits toward UNC.

So... you are not alone in your angst, but it has to be a perfect storm to actually pull for the black feet or rather not pull against them.
1.) We must be better and advance farther
2.) There must be few other ACC teams in the tourney, so conference pride is dependent on them
3.) They must have no overwhelmingly obnoxious players on their team (King Rice, Rasheed Wallace, Makhtar I, Hansboro)
4.) It must not be for a berth in the Final Four or National Championship
5.) I must not have interacted with an obnoxious Carolina fan in the last 24 hours (tough as I live in NC)

I still view their fanbase as superior to UK's and UM's for what that is worth, and I still am a big ACC supporter for all non UNC/UMd schools when they play outside the conference.

ClosetHurleyFan
03-25-2013, 05:08 PM
I really don't understand the question. Why should you root for the holes? They never root for Duke. Their fans cheer when Duke players get injured or when Coack K collapsed on the sideline. Why would you root for UNC? I think something is wrong with you for even questioning yourself.

I despise Duke basketball. Absolutely hate Duke basketball. My best friend growing up from home went there. I love the guy. I used to hang out there when in undergrad with football players he lived with. I still despised Duke anyway. I used to have a cardboard middle finger cut out on a stand that sat in front of my TV whenever Duke played that said "F**k Duke".

Yet, I found myself strangely satisfied sitting in my mountain cabin in 2010 when Duke beat Butler in that amazing national championship game. I found myself saying, "you know, I really kind of like the guys on this team, you know guys that stay all four years and get better and gel and thrive, I mean, compared to attending UNC back when that Ahole Laettner attended Duke, this is not so bad, right? I mean, heck, I even secretly liked Hurley back when he was at Duke (hence my post name)"

I simply resided myself to not entirely understanding why I have such competing emotions. Its just part of the deal I guess. Sigh.......:confused:

oldnavy
03-25-2013, 05:23 PM
I have to say that when I lived far, far away from the TarHeel fan base, I did find it "easier" to pull for UNC.

It's just when you live in the middle of them as I did growing up and to some degree now that you really hope they get beat each and every time they take the court.

Billy Dat
03-25-2013, 05:26 PM
I had a very strange experience yesterday. I was away from home and fired up the March Madeness App to check the scores and when I saw that the Heels were up early on Kansas, I felt a surge of glee.

After smacking myself in the face a few times and screaming, "Get a grip, man!", the feeling had not subsided.

You see, I really don't like Kansas. They are a legit rival based on the high stakes games we have played against each other, there are the ties to UNC and Dean/Roy, Self's star has risen to the point that he is basically in the same strata of college coaches as K (don't get worked up, there are strata within the strata), we compete for some recruits, etc. I also view them as more serious competition for a National Title, this year, so I assumed that if UNC knocked them off, there'd be no chance of seeing UNC in Atlanta - if we are fortunate to get that far ourselves.

I was really having a crisis.

I got home and my young sons were perplexed by my calm demeanor as the Heels held their lead in the first half. "But Dad," they cried, "aren't we supposed to hate Carolina?" "Yes, boys," I replied, "I am not quite sure what I am feeling right now."

As Kansas tore into the Heels in the second half, gaining an extending their lead in a lovely explosion of defense and Jeff Withey slam dunks, I felt pleasure swelling from within. By the time the game was in hand, so were my conflicted emotions. I was all 9F again. Someone, somewhere, tried to test me yesterday, but I passed, I bloody passed!!!!!!!!!

vick
03-25-2013, 05:28 PM
To be honest, this is the kind of year I like UNC to have (well, the occasional 2002 or 2010 is fun too)--good enough that sweeping them feels like something of an accomplishment, but not any realistic title threat.

davekay1971
03-25-2013, 05:42 PM
I despise Duke basketball. Absolutely hate Duke basketball. My best friend growing up from home went there. I love the guy. I used to hang out there when in undergrad with football players he lived with. I still despised Duke anyway. I used to have a cardboard middle finger cut out on a stand that sat in front of my TV whenever Duke played that said "F**k Duke".

Yet, I found myself strangely satisfied sitting in my mountain cabin in 2010 when Duke beat Butler in that amazing national championship game. I found myself saying, "you know, I really kind of like the guys on this team, you know guys that stay all four years and get better and gel and thrive, I mean, compared to attending UNC back when that Ahole Laettner attended Duke, this is not so bad, right? I mean, heck, I even secretly liked Hurley back when he was at Duke (hence my post name)"

I simply resided myself to not entirely understanding why I have such competing emotions. Its just part of the deal I guess. Sigh.......:confused:

It's possible to like guys on the enemy side even while you hate the team. I liked Antawn Jamison (probably my favorite Tarheel), liked but feared Ty Lawson and Kendall Marshall, etc. There are great kids on both sides of the trenches and it's almost impossible not to like some of them, even when their character is called into question by making such an egregious error in choosing schools. And, of course, there's the guys recruited by both sides, who easily could have worn the other blue.

I hate Carolina. With a passion. I hate that pastel blue, I hate the institution of UNC basketball, hate the fans, hate the coaches...and it's a terrible, visceral hatred. I won't enumerate all my reasons for hating UNC, because that's a long list and not really on topic.

I always, always cheer for them to lose. I don't care the circumstance, who they're playing, how it might help or hurt Duke, what kind of sleaze is on the other sideline (I'm looking at you, Calipari). I used to try to support them, a little, but I quickly gave up and embraced the hatred.

Yesterday was a great day for two reasons. The slightly bigger reason is that Duke won and moved onto the Sweet 16. But watching Carolina get obliterated by KU...that was almost as sweet.

And, fwiw, I respect the Carolina fans who feel the same way about Duke. They're wrong, but I get where they're coming from.

Frobisher
03-25-2013, 07:34 PM
I totally get that some Duke fans hate UNC ("Bleeeeep Caroline") under all circumstances, but in my mind doing so as well aligns me too much with their categorical, maniacal, Duke hatred. I find it embarrassing when otherwise levelheaded and semi-intelligent people spit the Duke vitriol and party-line talking points at me. If I gave it right back, it would only strengthen their resolve that Duke and Duke fans are "the worst."

For those living in North Carolina, as I do, I find it better (when I can muster the strength) to "turn the other cheek" around UNC fans. It tends to dampen their hatred. I often get "you're the only cool Duke fan I know" from my students (90% tarheel fans). When they make outrageous claims, hammer home false stereotypes, etc., I often let them, then gently point out that, for example, "actually, UNC has had a more favorable foul ratio almost every year this century; there's a good site with all those stats" or "Well, no, Duke players do quite well after college. They actually had the most players on NBA rosters until the recent Kentucky NBA-player assembly line commenced production. We still have the second most, I think. We had two All-Stars this year." And I definitely still joke with them when we beat them; I'm just not mean-spirited like they tend to be.

Also, many poor souls are simply raised to hate Duke. However, I prefer to think that many of us are able to think for ourselves. I have a young woman in one of my classes who recently discovered I went to Duke. She doesn't follow sports. He reaction: "uh-oh. That's bad." When pressed, she said she knew about Laettner's stomp, but she hadn't watched a game all year. She said to be in her family is to hate Duke.

Finally, I don't hate UNC; it's their fans that irk me (well, and recently much of their administration). As someone recruited (not in basketball) by both schools, I'm glad I made the right choice, but I didn't hate the guys over there I competed against; I'd known many since I was young. (Well I hated some of them, but not for going to UNC; they were just tools.)

So, do I ever root for UNC? Sure. Maybe casually. I'd rather see UNC make the final four next year, providing we are there, too, than see Calipari and Kentucky do it, if it came to that. But I don't make a habit of it. But I'd rather that than be one of the guys described up-thread as the obscenity-hurling, disrespectful, loudmouths.

brevity
03-25-2013, 08:22 PM
I despise Duke basketball. Absolutely hate Duke basketball. My best friend growing up from home went there. I love the guy. I used to hang out there when in undergrad with football players he lived with. I still despised Duke anyway. I used to have a cardboard middle finger cut out on a stand that sat in front of my TV whenever Duke played that said "F**k Duke".

Yet, I found myself strangely satisfied sitting in my mountain cabin in 2010 when Duke beat Butler in that amazing national championship game. I found myself saying, "you know, I really kind of like the guys on this team, you know guys that stay all four years and get better and gel and thrive, I mean, compared to attending UNC back when that Ahole Laettner attended Duke, this is not so bad, right? I mean, heck, I even secretly liked Hurley back when he was at Duke (hence my post name)"

I simply resided myself to not entirely understanding why I have such competing emotions. Its just part of the deal I guess. Sigh.......:confused:

I have a healthy amount of respect for a Carolina fan that can express appreciation for even a small part of Duke basketball. From what you've written above, I can tell two things:

1. You love college basketball in general, and how the game is played. This allows you to look beyond the jerseys and coaches.
2. You felt the need to watch the 2010 championship in an isolated environment where no other Carolina fan could find you. It's okay to admit these things. This is a safe place.

For superstitious reasons I'll save for another time, I don't watch much Carolina basketball. I only see them when they play Duke, and I silently acknowledge their occasional good play, in the form of a well-chosen shot or good rebounding position. (I love rebounding, which often makes it hard to be a Duke fan.) I like a blowout Duke win as much as the next fan, but there is something to beating Carolina when they also bring their A game.

There's a DBR canon/groupthink that allows members to be safely critical of certain past Duke players, and also safely complimentary of certain Carolina players. But if I may, the truth goes beyond that. There are beloved Duke players whose choices I found infuriating, and disliked Carolina players that I found to have an undeniable (and likable) skill. But it's not my board.

As for Laettner, I agree. I was a Duke freshman in 1991-1992, and he hung out near my dorm, playing the same arcade game. I was young, impressionable, and starstruck, and I still wondered what the hell he was doing, and why we wasn't somewhere else. It's unclear to me how much of his on-court nature was an act. He was a huge star, and an excellent player within Coach K's framework, but at a certain point he went beyond desiring attention and well into attracting hatred.

I believe in the Duke/Carolina rivalry, but I think a lot of blind hatred on both sides has taken the fun out of it. (I'm not against hatred at all. But this amount is unhealthy.) If I have to think about Carolina, I want to laugh at their expense. Kris Lang's glamour shot. Dancin' Danny Green. Stunned fan expressions after Austin Rivers' shot. The Haiti comparison.

weezie
03-25-2013, 10:46 PM
Holes bye-bye!! See ya!:cool:

Ok then, moving on into the future: do we root root root for the duckies against looville?

patentgeek
03-26-2013, 08:45 AM
I've lived in the Triangle since '88, and developed a healthy animosity against the hated Heels almost immediately, for many of the reasons mentioned above. For me, the ultimate test was the '93 championship game - the Heels were playing the Fab Five, whom I found despicable, and I made a deal with myself to be a bigger person and root for the Heels and the conference this one time. But I couldn't do it - by the time the second half rolled around, I was clearly in Michigan's corner, and even found myself humming their infuriating fight song during commercials. And when Webber called the fatal time-out, well, let's just say that as a good Catholic I had a lot to bring up at my next confession.

The moral of the story - never, ever, ever, ever, ever root for the Heels. Ever.

Lord Ash
03-26-2013, 08:52 AM
In the past, before the disgusting level of cheating from UNC came out, I may have rooted for them against Kentucky.

Now... nope. I hope Carolina loses every important game they ever play, and I hope they cry the whole way home. Bunch of cheats with a bunch of hanging banners that should read "Cheaters!"

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-26-2013, 09:19 AM
I grew up in Charlotte, surrounded by insufferable UNC fans in an age when the knock on Duke was three fold:


You will never win the "big one"
Michael Jordan
Your players suck in the NBA



It was abyssmal. Even NC State fans had the high ground for awhile. I was always the only Duke fan in the room (unless I was with family) and even when we started going to Final Fours and winning national championships, there was no one to celebrate with.

I've been wholeheartedly pro-Duke and anti-UNC for my entire life.

Having said all that, the past few seasons I have begun to build more of an appreciation for the ACC as a whole, and the UNC program. Part of this is the newly-rearranging conference landscape and the seeming dismissive attitudes toward the ACC in the national media and NCAA committees. I want a strong ACC. I want Duke to be the best team in the best conference, bar none. That, inherently requires better play by UNC as well as the other member teams.

The other piece is that I have a neighbor who is a wild UNC fan. He grew up visiting his grandmother in Black Mountain, where she lived next door to Roy. He developed a personal connection with Roy and UNC. He also loves the ACC unconditionally, and roots for Duke outside of the rivalry. In fact, we have even watched the last several UNC/Duke games together. I was sitting on his living room floor when Austin Rivers hit "that shot." Sure, there's lots of yelling and name-calling in the heat of the moment, but it is all in good fun.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I root for UNC in every situation outside of the rivalry, but I do at least recognize that a strong UNC is good for the ACC and good for the rivalry. I would have no problem whatsoever with Duke going undefeated for a season in which UNC loses four games (all to Duke, of course). All of this to say, I was rooting for UNC against Kansas this weekend.

I don't know if I am getting soft in my old age or what, but I was pleased to see this thread to get this confession off my chest. I'm sure most of you on this board will not understand my position at all, but please don't doubt my fanhood for a moment. I am a Duke fan through and through.

Go Duke!

RepoMan
03-26-2013, 09:56 AM
But my experience last week in Greensboro, Fri night, sitting in front of a few very loud, filthy-mouthed and downright obnoxious small group of NC fans who were rooting for MD as if their lives depended on it, left me with ZERO hesitation re. rooting for the total demise of their d*mn team. (Seriously, EVERY time K even stood up, or walked near a ref, the screaming was an endless stream of invectives..."SIT DOWN K, you F'ing D-bag!!" "You're SUCH a G*d D*mn disgusting liar/pervert/racist!" Every single call that went Duke's way was made by "A bunch of f'ing blind and bribed stupid SOB idiot refs..." They screamed obscenities at every Duke FT, and tried to intimidate any Duke fan who dared make a peep during MD FT's. And of course ALL Duke players were either A-holes or F@gs... )
ABC baby! Now and forever... :)

There is no more miserable experience than watching an ACC tournament game live in a NC venue when the Heels are still alive and the Devils are losing. The most amazing thing is that the UNC fans cheer much more vocally for Duke to lose than for Carolina to win. It is crazy. I think it must be because their hatred for Duke is pure and unfettered, while their love for UNC can be less clear (except in those seasons where UNC is at the very top). Also interesting is their disdain for their "inferior" rival, NC State, who they posture as a bunch of rubes, in contrast to their hatred for the NJ elitists in Durham. And it is all Carolina fans who harbor such views, from the biggest redneck to the biggest country clubber in town. If someone cared to study this, there is something interesting lurking beneath the surface of their fanbase psychology.

davekay1971
03-26-2013, 10:30 AM
There is no more miserable experience than watching an ACC tournament game live in a NC venue when the Heels are still alive and the Devils are losing. The most amazing thing is that the UNC fans cheer much more vocally for Duke to lose than for Carolina to win. It is crazy. I think it must be because their hatred for Duke is pure and unfettered, while their love for UNC can be less clear (except in those seasons where UNC is at the very top). Also interesting is their disdain for their "inferior" rival, NC State, who they posture as a bunch of rubes, in contrast to their hatred for the NJ elitists in Durham. And it is all Carolina fans who harbor such views, from the biggest redneck to the biggest country clubber in town. If someone cared to study this, there is something interesting lurking beneath the surface of their fanbase psychology.

It's because the vast majority of UNC fans are front-runners. They didn't become fans because they went there (although surely some of them did) or because they had a family member there, since they probably also have close family members who went to State or ECU or App, etc. Heck, many "true blue" Carolina fans went to ECU or UNCC or somewhere...and they could care less about their own school's basketball (especially when their own school isn't winning any championships) because, gosh darn it, they're Carolina fans. They became Carolina fans because Carolina always was good, and usually was the best team in the ACC, from the late 50s through the mid 80s. Or their daddy became a Carolina fan during that time and raised 'em up right to be Carolina fans, and all their friends daddy's raised all their friends to be Carolina fans. They became Carolina fans, in short, because it was easy to become a Carolina fan. And they got so used to it, that any real challenge of their supposed superiorty is intolerable.

That's why they look down their noses at State. Because State was top dog consistently so long ago that UNC fans have no memory of it. And because State's never had an extended stretch of superiority (as a basketball program) since. Sure, State is breeding the UNC ram out of existence, but most Tarheel fans don't even know that. UNC fans maintain a snobbish air of superiority about State, because they have their basketball superiority to fall back on, and somehow ignore that their snobbery makes them look like white collar country-club jerks looking down on their blue collar North Carolina brethren...and they don't see this as being inconsistent with their simultaneous claim that UNC is the People's University, compared to the country-club rich kid school in Durham.

Their hatred of Duke, on the other hand, is so deep because Duke has had the temerity, over the last 25+ years, to not only challenge their ACC superiorty, but to take it from them. Duke, those carpet-bagging interlopers from New Jersey, those spoiled rich kids with their funny-accented/funny-named Chicago coach who has NO TIES to the area (as if Kansan Dean is more of a native North Carolinian than Chicagoan Mike), has, on the national stage, and in the ACC, had a better record for going on 3 decades. UNC fans will argue until they're powder-blue in the face that somehow this isn't true, but the source of their real hatred for Duke is that even they know it kinda is true, and ESPN and Dukie Vitale and the national media seem to think it's true. When you've become a fan of a team because they are always on top, and now they aren't always on top anymore because their rival has taken that spot from them, that kind of sucks.

Ggallagher
03-26-2013, 02:44 PM
I have a daughter at Duke and one at UNC. My wife said to me during the game that she can't believe I don't root for UNC when they are not playing duke. I did feel a twinge of guilt....what's wrong with me?

I'm not quite in the same boat that you're in. My daughter's in school at UNC Wilmington - certainly not the same as really being on the Hill. Last year she went up to Chapel Hill for the Duke-UNC basketball game - and wore her finest Duke sweatshirt to the significant annoyance of nearly everyone that was around her. She tried to get a picture of her and ram mascot together, but they were having no part of that. It actually got a little bit ugly when she tried that.

But I'm just about more proud of her for that effort than I would have been had she gone to Duke.

msdukie
03-26-2013, 11:23 PM
they are evil and should be loathed. So it is written, so it shall be...

this

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