UNC vs. Duke #2

 

 

            VS.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m sitting here so excited for tomorrow’s big game I can hardly contain myself. If you are an avid reader of our blog and a college basketball fan, then you probably know that I’m talking about the second matchup of the season of North Carolina and Duke.

The greatest thing about this matchup is the competition it brings out amongst the fans of the two teams, two of the contributors to this blog in particular.

As I get older I still really love to play basketball whenever I can and watch sports quite often, maybe not as often as I once did but still quite a bit. I remember in college, my cousin and I would devote entire Saturday’s to doing nothing but watching college basketball all day long. We may take a short break to roll some rocks at the local BWW’s on Golden Tee, but for the most part we were just living the dream watching hoops and eating some ‘za.

I couldn’t tell you the moment when I first started liking the Tar Heels. It wasn’t some distinct moment where there was a player or coach or the style that they played that made me like them…in fact it may have stemmed from simply not liking Duke. That sounds bad to say but I think I sincerely disliked Christian Laettner…who of course would one day end up a T-Wolf (FML).

The only way Magic let Laettner on this team.

 

The rivalry escalated for me as I grew up and found out how big of a rivalry it was. I would actively seek out Duke fans simply to tell them how much better UNC was than their team. I wasn’t always right, but it didn’t really matter, I had made up my mind and being mostly German I tend to be a bit stubborn (thanks Hitler). I think I have finely found the perfect rival for me as well in my fellow blogger and one of my best friends. He and I generally come up with a bet, such as me always having to wear a Duke shirt when we hang out, or him having to write a blog about how awesome UNC is when they won most recently here. We’ve also talked about getting tattoos but he’s too big of a baby for that…typical Duke fan.

I’m starting to find it hard to simply say that UNC is awesome and Duke stinks though. Through our charity efforts both programs have been pretty good about getting us items for our silent auction, but the main difference is that UNC usually makes us pay for an item (the money goes towards their charity efforts) but Duke has been awesome about sending us unbelievable items for free, such as team autographed posters. Granted, Duke is a private school and when my brother and I took a self-guided tour of the facility it was like walking around a castle, or should I say several castles! It is one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen, whereas the UNC campus was very comparable to any other state run university. As my buddy mentioned in his post though, it did smell like cotton candy and winning.

So as I’m getting older I may be growing a bit indifferent. There’s one guy on a college team that you should really like if you want to truly be a fan of the game for a long time though, and that’s the head coach. That being said, neither UNC nor Duke would be my favorite team, it would have to be Louisville. I have been a huge fan of Coach Pitino since his time at Kentucky; in fact it may have either been his Wildcats or Lute Olsen’s Arizona team that got me liking college basketball in the first place. Both coaches seem to be extremely classy individuals who not only cared about winning ball games, but the future of the kids that were playing for them on the court every year.



Al Pacino...I mean Rick Pitino

Coach Lute Olson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This blog has certainly turned into a college basketball love fest for me…maybe I should get into my own experiences with the sport to show my competitive nature and possibly bring some humor to this overly dry post…

I mentioned that I love basketball. I use to be pretty competitive about the sport and always wanted to be on the court when the game was on the line. I didn’t need to take the last shot, I’m a pretty terrible shot anyway, but I wanted to be defending, rebounding, screening, or just doing whatever to help my team…but now I play mainly to get together with friends, have some cocktails after (or in-between) games, and just get some exercise.

We play in a city league in Grand Forks, ND and this past week’s game got me really realizing just how little the outcome of the game matters to me anymore.

The team we played were mostly guys that we know and have played with or against for years. They’re a lot younger than us and generally are the guys that will run you right out of the gym, so pretty much us from ten years ago…but with less talent obviously.

The whole game I kept looking up at the scoreboard and no matter how well it seemed like we were playing, the deficit just seemed to grow and grow. I started taking a lot of shots that I normally wouldn’t to try and get our team back in the game and I maybe took a few more chances on defense than I would have if we had been in the lead.

Towards the end of the game, there was about 1:40 left in the game, I noticed that the other team was going on a big run. They had been up by about 20 at one point and so now I was thinking, why don’t we just call this thing, it’s getting ridiculous…but then I noticed something…the deficit was shrinking…

Turns out I don’t pay attention to the game that well. What I later found out was that we had actually been the team that was up by 20 and my actions, pretty much single handedly lead to the evaporation or our lead and although I had a couple of good things finally happen in that final 1:40, the other team made a three pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and then ended up beating us by like four points…

My ultra-competitive streak ended quite a while ago. I still love playing the game and cheering against my buddy’s favorite team just to get under his skin but when it boils right down to it I’ve come to realize how little of an impact these things have on my life. The other things, the part where I get to hang out with friends, have a few cocktails, make stupid bets, and get a little exercise…those are the important things.

I also ran in a few 5K’s, 10K’s, etc. in my days here and once again have decided that these may not exactly be for me either. I like the exercise, hanging with friends, etc. as I do with basketball but I’m never going to be one of those guys who needs to beat my best time or keep running further and further. I ran in one 10K last year that got a bit of a late start and when I started running it was 96 degrees! The track was two 5K laps and after one, I had had enough…so I quit and went and shingled a roof with my uncle, dad, brother, and cousins. It wasn’t any less hot, but at 30 years old, I don’t really think I have much left to prove to myself and I know what I like…a few cocktails, hanging with friends, and just the right amount of exercise. Add to that list, some dumb competitions and bets with my buddies, dealing with people, reading, and experiencing a little bit of everything I can well I’m alive, and you pretty much have me figured out!

Me dominating some 5K's

 

Tomorrow is UNC vs. Duke #2 for the season and a game I’m very much looking forward to enjoying with a few of my great friends. I’m going to be extremely cocky, win or lose – but it’s all just for fun. Don’t be surprised if you see one of us BDandLL contributors with a Blue Devil or Tar Heel tramp stamp come Monday though!

 

Editor’s Note: The greatest part of spell checking this blog was when Laettner came up…I got to hit, “Ignore All.” Go Heels!