Originally Posted by
HereBeforeCoachK
I think the severe nastiness started with the Cheat fans, and now, as demonstrated, it goes both ways. (caveat, I understand that in the 60s, when Heyman was around, it was very nasty for a couple of years there - but that's before my time).
I have written this before -- in the 1960's the fans got along OK (football was more important by far than hoops), but the players really had problems with each other. Larry Brown-Art Heyman knew each other from Long Island (and there was obviously some bad blood) -- but the other players knew each other only as rivals.
Today the players seem to get along fine, having known each other since age 13 through travel teams, ACC ball, big time prep/HS hoops. Indeed, the best players expect to play together in the NBA or elsewhere. Aren't there summer pick-up games in both Chapel Hill and Durham involving players from both teams? The fans today OTOH border on being totally ridiculous in their attitude and even behavior toward the other teams.
There'sore to be said, but I'll stop now.
Sage Grouse
---------------------------------------
'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013