ACC basketball in your life

[wavedukefan70s]

Probably a dumb thread to some.but I was curious as to when you were growing up how big of a factor was acc basketball in your family's life durring the season?

[fuse]

Growing up, zero.
I expect my children would answer differently.

[JasonEvans]

My father, grandfather, and uncle all went to UNC. I grew up bleeding Carolina Blue. The NCAA tournament was a holiday in my household. One year, we interrupted the Passover Seder so we could watch the Final Four (1991, we watched Duke beat UNLV and then Carolina lose to Kansas... it was fun to be a Blue Devil fan amidst all my Tar Heel relatives that night).

ACC basketball has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

[wilson]

The first things I remember watching on television in my life, sports or otherwise, are Duke basketball games circa 1986.
Growing up in Atlanta, I had precious few opportunities to attend Duke games, but the road game at Georgia Tech was always an appointment for us...for almost a decade, Alexander Memorial Coliseum was the only place I'd ever seen a live Duke basketball game (in the Lethal Weapon 3/Thriller Dome days, when that was actually quite an atmosphere).
When I was in high school, my dad took us out of school for a day or two all four years to attend the ACC Tournament.
There has literally never been a time when ACC basketball wasn't a significant part of my life.

[wavedukefan70s]

It's been part of my life since I can remember. With several my mother's family graduating from unc.to thier farm off of cornwallis rd.my father a Duke fan.as a child I went to duke games regularly. 5 hr drive from Charleston sc.mostly before the coach k era.for a time I thought there was only 4 schools UNC Duke Nc state and wake forest.i miss the days of showing up in Cameron in a winter coat.then getting sweaty freezing when we left.
We watched every acc game that we could.i loved and breathed acc basketball. We would go to the acc tournament. It felt like home.my wife says I'm crazy.she just doesn't know .I actually went up to my 1st girlfriend because she was wearing a acc basketball sweatshirt .I vaguely remember her braces and black hair.but I damn sure remember every detail of that shirt.maybe I'm getting old and missing the old Acc .I felt it was a right of passage.you picked your team and you followed them
vehemently through out the season.

[-jk]

I was there at Duke's first final four in '63. A twinkle in an eye, perhaps, but there none-the-less. (And I love - love - the roar of the crowd!)

Growing up in Dur'm, we had a hardcore unc fan next door (my brothers and his kids are still great friends) and a Wolfpack Club president down the street.

ACC: Nature and Nurture, baby!

-jk

[rsvman]

Not much.

I lived in California, Washington, New Mexico, and Utah. I was a fan of the Western Athletic Conference back then, which at the time included New Mexico and BYU, where my father got his PhD and where he took his first post-doctorate job, respectively.

I went to games at The Pit when I was in New Mexico (3rd, 4th, and 5th grades). Went to all BYU games from 1969 on until about 1984, when I moved away from Utah. BYU-Utah was the Duke-UNC of the west, by the way.

I watched some ACC games on tv once in a while. As I recall, UNC games were on quite a bit. I also saw NC State, especially when they had David Thompson, and I remember distinctly watching Georgia Tech play, with Kenny Anderson and all those guys. So I guess I watched more ACC games than I thought at the time I started this post.

Kind of ashamed to admit that I sort of like UNC back in the day when I was a kid, living in Utah, not knowing anything about North Carolina, Duke, etc. I even rooted for Kentucky in 1991 in the Laettner game. <*ducks, runs, hides> I'm so sorry.

I learned what was what eventually, though, and took a job at Duke in 1997. Been a huge, die-hard fan ever since. It's amazing how much different the replays of the Laettner shot feel to me now!

[CDu]

Grew up in Northwest Florida, and my parents aren't sports fans. So, it wasn't at all a part of my life growing up. I was a huge sports fan, but in terms of college sports it was FSU for me, and more football than basketball at the college level. My college basketball interest was largely limited to the NCAA tournament.

[jv001]

In my early life(teenager) the ACCT was huge because the winner made it to the NCAAT. Even after conferences were allowed to have more than one team sent to the NCAAT, it was an exciting time. But since the conference has added too many teams, I just don't get that excited about it. From the reports I've read, Coach K now puts the emphasis on winning a National Championship every season. So, I guess that's helped change the way I look at the ACCT. GoDuke!

[flyingdutchdevil]

Both parents went to non-US colleges, we never lived in the US...

I didn't care at all about college ball. Loved the NBA, especially the Jazz with Malone and Stockton (my brother supported MJ).

Got my first taste of the ACC as a Duke freshman and never looked back!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Let's see... my parents (Dad: Duke;Mom: Woman's College/UNCG) used to tell me that my paternal grandfather trained me to answer "Duke" when I was asked, "Who's going to win the game today?" for football games. Duke was in the Southern Conference then. I remember watching the first CD Chesley produced broadcast (1957) when UNC played for the National Championship in basketball. My dad took me to Duke basketball games when the tickets were $2.50 each. Got to see Art Heyman play many games before he graduated and I enrolled.:cool:

[TruBlu]

I also grew up in household full of unc fans. We would pile into our minivan to listen to the tournament on the radio. The van was on blocks, but the radio worked, thanks to the dad stealing a battery from a neighbor’s car.

This ended when I was ten years old. A school counselor became suspicious about my being related to the family, since my IQ was about double what my three brothers’ (Larry, Daryl, and Daryl) total IQ. Turns out I was accidentally swapped with their real brother in the hospital delivery room. I was returned to my real family, and Daryl #3 was returned to his real family.

I still have a fondness for my fake family, and occasionally return during ACC Tournaments to listen to games with them in the minivan.

Our reunions may not last much longer, however. It is getting tiresome hearing them explaining their cheating scandal thusly; “Kerolina ain’t never done no cheating, and besides everyone else is a doin it too”

Bless their hearts!

*This story is totally made up , except for the quoted excuse, which I do hear from many heel fans.

[devildeac]

I also grew up in household full of unc fans. We would pile into our minivan to listen to the tournament on the radio. The van was on blocks, but the radio worked, thanks to the dad stealing a battery from a neighbor’s car.

This ended when I was ten years old. A school counselor became suspicious about my being related to the family, since my IQ was about double what my three brothers’ (Larry, Daryl, and Daryl) total IQ. Turns out I was accidentally swapped with their real brother in the hospital delivery room. I was returned to my real family, and Daryl #3 was returned to his real family.

I still have a fondness for my fake family, and occasionally return during ACC Tournaments to listen to games with them in the minivan.

Our reunions may not last much longer, however. It is getting tiresome hearing them explaining their cheating scandal thusly; “Kerolina ain’t never done no cheating, and besides everyone else is a doin it too”

Bless their hearts!

*This story is totally made up , except for the quoted excuse, which I do hear from many heel fans.

Ha-rumph! Paging Ozzie! Should we throw a couple flaming turds at this poster? Or, better yet, acquaint him with another neighbor tailgater who goes about 6-3/225 and used to play LB for Duke FB?

(JK; mostly;))

[BeachBlueDevil]

Growing up in Virginia, absolutely.

More specifically my Pop (Grandfather) was from Aho Mountain, North Carolina (Blowing Rock) and grew up a UNC fan. So when he came to Virginia he brought his Carolina roots with him which included being a UNC fan. Because of this that meant ACC sports were on when I was over there growing up (my stepdad was from Northern Virginia, so he was a Hoya and Big East guy). As I started to gain an interest in college basketball I knew that I didn't like UNC despite my Pop and brother being fans. It ended up by the grace of God that I became a Duke fan.

March of last year my Pop passed away at 94 and I delivered a eulogy at his funeral and my closing line was, " I know you're up there with Grandma and happy. But I know your happiness multiplied when Carolina beat Duke and that hot dog (he called all good Duke players "hot doggers") Grayson Allen."

[rthomas]

Started on ACC Basketball on TV with C.D. Chesley in late 60's- still remember most of the words of Sail with the Pilot, HollyFarms Chicken, Bilos. Loved Bones McKinney, but remember when I thought he was too old and should retire. Was it Jim Thacker that did the play by play? I remember when Billy Packer started color - My dad liked how smart he was with his color commentary. I remember when Dan Bonner started color. There was always a double header and sometimes a triple header on Saturday afternoons. I was really upset that Raycom came along, but it turned out that Raycom was OK. Then I was upset when Packer went to NBC, but that was OK too.

[Bob Green]

Was it Jim Thacker that did the play by play?

Yes.

ACC Game of the Week was must watch TV in the Green household when I was growing up. Or, should I say must watch black & white TV with rabbit ears...

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Our family "sailed with The Pilot....." and so on since I was a wee lad. Packer and Thacker.....Bones McKinney......heard stories from parents about the great Dixie Classic and Everett Case, Frank McGuire, Vic Bubas - players Lennie Rosenbluth, the Kangeroo Kid, and Larry Miller and of course Mullins, Marin, Vacendak et al.

And the ACCT was a ritual. My parents went to every single of of them from the very first one into the 1980s, when my mom missed due to a broken leg. Coach K's second year in fact.

[SupaDave]

Probably a dumb thread to some.but I was curious as to when you were growing up how big of a factor was acc basketball in your family's life durring the season?

Growing up in Durham, I can't remember a time when it was NOT a big deal. We actually used to watch the ACC tourney in class - and I'm talking like starting in kindergarten.

By the time I was jr high school people were bringing radios and earphones to listen to the game.

One of my favorite moments was in the 9th grade. I bumped into Dick Vitale at Hotel Europa while eating lunch. It's the only autograph I've ever asked for. Why was he in town? The Duke-UNC game was that night.

[chrishoke]

Growing up in Durham, I can't remember a time when it was NOT a big deal. We actually used to watch the ACC tourney in class - and I'm talking like starting in kindergarten.

By the time I was jr high school people were bringing radios and earphones to listen to the game.

One of my favorite moments was in the 9th grade. I bumped into Dick Vitale at Hotel Europa while eating lunch. It's the only autograph I've ever asked for. Why was he in town? The Duke-UNC game was that night.

ACC Basketball was huge for my family my whole life. Like Dave, I grew up in Durham. My dad was a Duke civil engineering grad and we had season tickets to Duke basketball and football - I have been sitting in the same seats since 1960 - I grew up with Heyman, Mullins, Marin, Vacendak, etc. as my heroes. I can confirm Dave's comments re TVs in schools to watch the tourney, and sneaking in radios to listen in high school. Growing up a Duke fan in Durham was like living behind enemy lines. All my friends were heel fans with an occasional state fan thrown in. That prepared me for spending 7 years in heeldom getting my undergrad and law degrees.

[brevity]

ESPN joins in your reminiscing: Requiem for the old-school ACC tournament (and classroom TV cart) (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26251442/requiem-old-school-acc-tournament-classroom-tv-cart)


My fourth-grade year at Fred Olds Elementary, a classmate was busted when he suddenly slammed his fist into his desk during a math lesson, knocking his radio out of his desk and smashing it into a pile of junk when it hit the tile floor. Mrs. Crowley walked him into the hallway for an interrogation. We could hear the whole thing. When she asked him why he'd pounded the desk, he told her it was because Duke had a chance to upset Maryland but had blown it. She told him that was a perfectly understandable reason and let him return to class, unpunished.

[kako]

I was born in Raleigh. My dad taught at State. We moved to Austin when I was 4. My dad passed away while we were there, and my mom moved us back to Raleigh when I was 10. My dad was more of a football fan (I could stay up and watch MNF if Roman Gabriel was playing for the Rams. And in Austin he taught at UT, so football was life). When we moved back to Raleigh, it was the Pack's Thompson/Towe/Burleson years. I quickly got swept up in that. And the rivalry with Carolina. But after State's years, I hooked on to Tate Armstrong and Duke. The '78 team sealed Duke for life, leading me to go to there for undergrad.

My mom, a small Japanese woman with really no love for sports in general, would watch basketball games for some reason, perhaps because I was playing YMCA ball. Or because living in North Carolina, one had to pick their college sports allegiance (I often say that though the area is in the Bible Belt, one's choice of college allegiances is more important than if you were Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Jewish, Morman, etc.). I would take a transistor radio so that I could sneak it in class and listen via the single earbud to the ACC Tourney on those Fridays. We were still linked in with the State crowd, and via extension their fan base. We would go to houses and Thacker and Packer would be on. People would root hard for State and Anybody But Carolina. When State's fortunes dwindled a bit at the end of the Stormin' Norman years, that was right at the rise of Spanarkel and company. So in ABC tradition, the places we went rooted for Duke as appropriate. We rarely went to Chapel Hill. And if we did, there would be some discussion about being in enemy territory. And the hottest topic of discussion anywhere (school, restaurants, stores, the dentist, etc.) would be last night's Duke, State or Carolina game. So it permeated everything.

Living in other places in the US, particularly on the West Coast, I have experienced nothing like ACC college intensity. I understand pro markets are different, but college support absolutely stinks here in the Bay Area. Occasionally a team will be good, like Stanford in the 90's. Or a team may pull off an upset (Santa Clara/Arizona in the '93 tourney), or even today with St. Mary's over Gonzaga. But it never lasts. What passes for rivalries here is trivial (the so-called Big Game for Stanford/Cal doesn't generate 1/10 the interest of any upper tier regular season ACC match. Few people wear local college gear. Fewer people adorn their houses or fly flags for their colleges unless it's bandwagon time for some reason. Nothing approaches the intensity of ACC basketball when I was growing up.

9F