The Closest 8 Miles In Sports
Today is March 6th. UNC vs Duke, the greatest rivalry in sports, is being played in basketball today. Most people outside of North Carolina don’t know why this is the best rivalry in sports, so I wrote a creative writing piece to show you. You will go through the stories of Mark and Karl, Jacob and Dylan, and Cody to understand the perspective of people involved in the rivalry. You will also go through the history of the rivalry. So sit down, get something to snack on, and enjoy the story.
The street lights flicker, and a final couple of people come out of the shops. Franklin Street is usually quiet by this time in the morning, but a few stragglers stayed in the sports bars after their favorite team's game. The sports team is the University of North Carolina, and they had just come off a loss to Virginia. Their rival, Duke, had fans still in their bars after watching Virginia take down UNC and Duke taking control of the Atlantic Coast Conference. "Whenever UNC gets beat, it's almost as good as beating UNC" a fan remarks. In a week, the most important game of the season is set to happen.
Chapel Hill is a quaint town, split between the counties of Chatham and Orange in North Carolina. The University of North Carolina is the heart of this town, literally. The town of Chapel Hill was established in 1819 as a surrounding town for the University. Duke University was founded in 1831 in the town of Trinty but moved to Durham in 1892. Durham was always a big city, bigger than Chapel Hill would ever get. But UNC didn’t care.
Pictured above is Art Heyman, who was instrumental in the coming-out of Duke’s basketball program. (via NBC Sports College Basketball)
Life was good. North Carolina stayed as the premier university for school and sports, Duke was for scholars, and NC State was engineers. Everyone stayed to themselves. But in the 1960s, things started to change. Duke and NC State started getting better at sports. Art Heyman was the first straw between UNC and Duke. Art Heyman was a prospect from New York and was considered one of the best prospects in the nation. Art Heyman had committed to UNC, but at the last second Heyman switched to Duke. Heyman, a top player, wanting to play for one of the worst teams in college basketball? It was unheard of. The UNC players took this personally and this is regarded as the spark to start the rivalry, but the school change was just the start of it. Heyman had problems with the Tar Heels. He was part of a freshman team brawl between Duke and UNC. Then during the next season, he got into yet another brawl. Heyman, who turned from UNC’s hope to UNC’s horror, was nothing but a problem for the Tar Heels.
UNC Fan’s Perspective
BEEP BEEP BEEP. Mark groggily smacks the snooze button on his alarm. It leans over and grabs his phone, seeing the time and his Dean Smith background. It's 6:30 AM. He slumps out of his dorm room and goes to the bathroom to wash up. After taking a shower and getting dressed, his roommate Karl greets him. Karl and Mark are big UNC basketball fans, which led them to meet and become roommates. Mark enjoys talking to Karl, and they share many interests. They talk about UNC's season as a couple of wins that followed up their loss to a ranked Virginia a week ago. It's Friday, and Mark has class. Karl doesn't have class in the morning but his work shift is at 9. Mark says goodbye for now and rushes to his class.
Duke Fan’s Perspective
Jacob smiles. He has finished his pop quiz in Economics. He puts his finished quiz on his teacher's desk, thanks her, and runs out. It's a short walk to Cameron Indoor Stadium. He waves to the other students in the masses of tents close to Cameron Indoor. He finds his tent, a small tent in Krzyzewskiville where Duke students camp out for tickets to the UNC-Duke game and daps up his best friend Dylan. Dylan had finished class before and had been camping out until Jacob came back. Dylan says that he's gonna get some fast food and Jacob tells him just to get whatever type of burger that they have. With Dylan leaving, Jacob is left by himself. He really has enjoyed camping out with Dylan and time to regather his thoughts without having to spend every waking hour with his girlfriend. Jacob lowers his tall frame and gets out of the tent. He has made friends with his temporary neighbors, the space between their tents having a green spot with some plastic chairs so they can socialize. Jacob is glad that class is over. He has been camping out here for the past 2 weeks, consisting of a diet of ramen noodles and fast food. The neighbors greet him. Emma was the lone girl, and throughout the past weeks, she and Dylan talked endlessly, hitting off pretty well. Michael and Caleb were the twins staying together in one tent, and the last one is Zac who is a Duke basketball nerd. Jacob sits down in the plastic chair, starts a conversation about Duke’s starting lineup, and uses this time to relax.
Story of Coaching
Dean Smith cutting down the net after winning the National Championship. (via New York Times)
In 1961, Dean Smith was made the coach of North Carolina. He was an unknown assistant coach until then. UNC didn't do well during his first years. In the late 60s, he started getting success. He started beating Vic Bubas, the Duke coach at the time. He started winning games and started his winning legacy. He took UNC to the 1968 National Championship. UNC made 1967, 1968, and 1969 Final Fours. They reached the National Championship in 1977 and 1981, with one other Final Four appearance (1972). He dominated the UNC-Duke rivalry until this one young upstart stopped it. Mike Krzyzewski was named the Duke coach in 1980. He too had a hard time adjusting to a big program. After a few years of being a bottom-feeder, Mike Krzyzewski built the team into a winning team. This sparked the true start of the UNC-Duke rivalry. The 80s were amazing for the UNC-Duke rivalry, with both teams competing for a title year in and year out. But that wasn't the end. The 90s were even better. Both teams started the decade with National Championships. But with Dean Smith retiring in 1997, the rivalry died.
Duke Fan’s Perspective
Jacob wakes up on Saturday morning, it's game day. The tipoff is at 6 PM, and it's 8 AM. Dylan offers an Egg McMuffin, but Jacob declines. Dylan exits to go and talk with Emma, while Jacob goes to sit with Michael, Caleb, and Zac. They talk about how the Duke offense and defense will succeed and how badly they will beat UNC. Jacob smiles, happy to have this yearly experience that helps him meet people. He met Dylan in high school, as they were students in a Chapel Hill high school together and were the only Duke fans. Jacob thinks about the lasting memories he has made in Krzyzewskiville, and how he will probably tell his grandkids about his experience.
UNC Fan’s Perspective
Mark gets the blue paint. Karl gets the paintbrushes. In no time both have painted blue stomachs. Mark and Karl smile. They get their crazy hair on. Mark makes the PBJs, and they head out the door. They have to travel to Durham to watch the game. They get into Mark's Subaru Outback. Karl pulls out his Juice WRLD "Legends Never Die" CD and puts it in the CD player. Up Up And Away plays and Mark & Karl start jamming out, ready to arrive at Cameron Indoor Stadium soon.
Continuing the Rivalry
Roy Williams celebrating after a play. (via FiveThirtyEight)
Enter Roy Williams in 2003. He picked UNC off their struggling feet and did amazing. He won his first National Championship in his 2nd season. Roy Williams started challenging Mike Krzyzewski, and UNC started beating Duke. The rivalry was restored. UNC and Duke had competitive teams every year. Buzzer beaters, blood spilled, and pride was always there. Usually, the team that won controls the ACC. It is always interesting to see what happens between the best teams in college basketball.
UNC Fan’s Perspective
Mark and Karl file into their seats that they bought a year ago. The seats are in the nosebleeds but still very pricy. They have gotten in pretty early, and it's empty because the students haven't been let in. Some music plays and they start dancing, getting them on the jumbotron. They laugh about it and eventually sit down. As the Duke students start rumbling in, they start getting dirty looks. Not many UNC fans or students can get in, but Mark and Karl found a way. The game starts in 10 minutes.
Fan At-Home’s Perspective
Cody finally gets the pizza at his door. It finally arrives and he digs in. He finishes quickly and turns on the UNC-Duke pregame. He thinks about how Jay Bilas calling the game is very unfair and a UNC grad should also call it, but he keeps it to himself. He puts on his Carolina blue crazy hair and starts playing Carolina songs. He is pumped for the game. He looks on his phone and talks with some friends. It goes into commercials and he goes to get some water.
Duke Fan’s Perspective
Jacob finally gets let into Cameron Indoor Stadium after one and a half hours of waiting in line. Dylan ends up getting seats with Emma, so Jacob ends up getting seats with the boys. They look at the championship trophies on display, thinking about the history of success for Duke. When they finally find their seats, they find themselves next to two guys painted in Carolina blue. They introduce themselves as Karl and Mark. They joke around and end up exchanging phone numbers. I guess you also make unlikely friends, Jacob thinks to himself. They settle in and the starting lineups start getting announced.
Carolina-Duke is the best rivalry in sports. It is full of hatred, pride, and glory. Duke greats like Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Kyrie Irving, and Marvin Bagley played this game. UNC greats like Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, and Marcus Paige played this game. This is the most prestigious rivalry in sports. It is literally war. Two times a year, maybe more, these teams will battle it out. There is bloodlust for a victory. When victory is yours, you own college basketball. This is the most important game of the season hands down.
Cody gets all the snacks on the living room table and sits on the couch eagerly, excited to watch some basketball. The game tips off, and a new chapter of history begins.
