What UNC-Duke Means to Me

Every college basketball fanatic knows the importance of UNC-Duke. My first fond college basketball memory was the 2005 NCAA Tournament, which culminated in a North Carolina championship in a poorly lit St. Louis stadium. As Sean May and Raymond Felton celebrated their title victory, I looked on in awe. Four years later, I watched Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington tear through the tournament field, securing North Carolina its second title under Roy Williams.

Later on, I watched Duke win two championships in Indianapolis. In 2010, Kyle Singler and the Plumlees ruined one of the all-time Cinderella stories, defeating Butler by 2 in the finals. Just last year, freshmen Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones knocked off Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky and Wisconsin in the championship game. However, in between those successes, we have seen Duke fail. First round losses to Mercer and Lehigh often get overlooked when discussing Duke's legacy in the 21st century. So does the Eric Maynor shot that led to a VCU upset over Duke in 2007 (my personal favorite Duke upset). Because of the presence of these failures, it is impossible to hate Duke as much as they were hated in the Christian Laettner era. But Duke is still one of the most envied programs in college basketball today.

I remain impartial when it comes to the rivalry. Usually, I root based on which players I like more, which usually rotates back and forth pretty evenly. I have fond memories of both teams winning, and can recall the bitterness and hatred of each team. Watching Gerald Henderson punch Tyler Hansbourgh in 2007 and hearing the Dean Dome erupt as Hansbrough charged to the locker room with his face covered in blood. Seeing Freshmen Austin Rivers hit a buzzer beater to win at the Dean Dome in 2012 and watching Duke spill onto the floor while fans stood in silence. Although the rivalry might have been more bitter back in the day when players stayed for all four years, Duke and North Carolina is still the most bitter rivalry in college hoops.

To me, Duke-UNC is so special because of what has happened around the landscape of college basketball. With conference realignment changing the framework of major conferences, this rivalry is one of the few to survive and still thrive. Additionally, it is comforting to know that in an industry dominated by the monetary gain of football, that there are two schools still driven by their passion for basketball. Even without having a team to root for, North Carolina vs. Duke will always be a microcosm of college basketball as a whole.

And that fact alone makes it the best rivalry in sports.