By: Julio Olmo

The rivalry between these two teams is perhaps the greatest in all of sports.

It is so intense that what should be otherwise reasonable adults scream out loud during games;

“I hate Duke basketball!”

Of course, they have counterparts who feel same way and will scream right back on the other side;

“Well, I hate North Carolina basketball!”

Being an outsider I always been fascinated by the intensity of the rivalry.

The explanation given to me was the following;

“The answer has to do a lot with class and culture in the South, particularly in the state were both universities are located and that’s reason behind the collective ferocity from both schools.”

Hmm?! That’s the politically correct explanation, which you’ll hear at the majority of press conferences when Duke and North Carolina face one another, but…

Like, (my guy!) Cedric The Entertainer says;

“I love to follow foolishness!”

What is behind the hatred?

Well, sports warfare is really, really fun.

Tell me, that you don’t love to see those television camera shots of face painted students in all kinds of shades of blue with pictures of little devils or little heels, screaming at each other,

“Go to Hell, Carolina,” or “Go to Hell, Duke,”

 

While two great teams do battle.

The schools stand a mere eight miles away so the proximity between Chapel Hill and Durham is definitely a huge factor in the rivalry.

So basically Duke and North Carolina basketball are saying to one another,

“This town ain’t big enough for the both of us!”

And they go to war!