The Never-ending College basketball season thread

You can find where I have argued that the idea of "the best" for a team sport with multiple positions doesn't make for an ultimate answer.

Let's be real here: you're either a UNC fan or a Duke fan. You aren't some neutral observer who is just fired up for this particular match-up even when both teams are unranked.

 

If we're being real, you're a Tennessee fan arguing to me that Tennessee's home atmosphere and rivalries are better than the best ones in basketball because you don't like "Dook"

 

I’m just going to put this out there. I know there are Duke students who may be the 3rd generation in their family to go. I’m not saying the passion you see in Cameron Indoor is fake. But all these New Jersey kids graduate and leave, for the most part never to return in any meaningful way. Part of what makes college rivalries so special is fundamentally missing in Duke and they won’t ever have it.

 

I've always been a sucker for the romanticism behind the Duke/UNC game as someone who appreciates all things sports in general. The sheer evenness of that series is mind blowing. That matchup has supplied me with a lot of entertainment over the years with last year being a prime example of that rivalry providing everyone drama and intrigue. However ever since UNC's only punishment for running a fraudulent academic scam for a generation with their athletes only resulting in a "mean" letter sent to them by the NCAA saying "Bad UNC!, best not do it again or else lolz!" I have found myself being team Dook if being forced to take sides. Besides yes, Duke fans are highly annoying. But the arrogance and piety of UNC fans are insufferable compared to the annoyingness of your typical sidewalk Duke front-running fan.

With that said "the best rivalry in sports" will forever be Yankees vs Red Sox.

 

The best pastime rivalry of past times.

 

Duke is much like Vanderbilt in terms of their alumni/student mentality and makeup. It's a tiny school. Just not a lot of people can say they attended Duke. Whereas UNC is a massive state school whose alumni base is far and wide. Generally everyone, especially in our region of the country, is much more likely to encounter more insufferably arrogant UNC alumni in our personal lives. Most Duke fans are harmless sidewalk band waggoners who I fail take seriously having zero personal connection to the actual University itself no matter how annoying many of those folks are.

 

The 2003 & 2004 ALCS drama of Yankees/Red Sox will forever be some of the best sporting theatre I've ever had the privilege to enjoy not involving teams I had an emotional rooting interest in.

 

Seems like you’re kind of agreeing with me on the Duke front? Spent plenty of time with UNC fans, never really had a problem with them. They’ve got a lot of rich out of staters who fit your bill, but with in state UNC kids it’s a different story.

Also, for whatever it’s worth, I’m not sure living in Nashville gives someone the clearest view of any fan base. The great Nashville boom of the past 10 years attracted a lot of people that suck, and that will hold regardless of school. I’m not saying UNC fans living in Nashville shaped your view, obviously I don’t know, just a thought.

 

Where did you grow up? In my anecdotal experience of growing up and now living in Nashville, the number of UNC fans flaunting their BS around me seemingly out number the Duke sycophants like 10:1. I had one HS teacher, whom was a great mentor to me that I greatly admired btw, that actually was a Duke alumni. Otherwise I have never really had to deal with actual Duke alumni in my own life. Virtually every Duke fan I've known are simply casual fans that only really come out of the woodworks whenever Duke is making a deep March run. Whereas the UNC virus was much more apparent and obnoxious. UNC has both the annoying sidewalk element and legions of actual alumni spewing their arrogance and piety for all to behold. Some of the most annoying examples of UNC fandom were all the kids I knew growing up who would cheer for Tennessee in football yet proudly wear their Carolina blue all winter during basketball season. Even several UT students I went to school with would have their UNC flags proudly displayed in their dorms and apartments and cheered against the Vols when we had a home-home against them a few years ago. Disgusting stuff.

 

And I will die a Tennessee fan arguing it.

I don't know that I've ever typed "Dook" in my life. Does that mean you are fair weather Duke fan? Cling to that rivalry, it might be the only thing of note Duke has for awhile.

 

If you go north, it is phony Duke bandwagoners. In Tennessee, it is more phony UNC bandwagoners.

 

What were the tv ratings for this game this year?

 

I'm not a fairweather anything. Duke is not very good this season, if my arguments were based in homerism like yours I might overlook how irrelevant that is to your bad take

 

It isn't homerism if I have that opinion about everything of that nature. I don't give a shit about Tobacco Road. I don't respect it. [uck fay] 'em. Call it homerism if you want, I'm a Vol for everything with no split loyalties like some kind of Volcat, DukeVol, whatever-the-[uck fay].

 

Can see how that is the case.

 

The orange overalls + true fan card combo is quite a response to me saying one of the best rivalries is one of the best rivalries

 

Knoxville. I’ve never witnessed this massive sidewalk UNC element, not to say it isn’t a thing in Nashville, I’ve just never seen it in any of the places I’ve lived.

Now of course you’re right on the 10:1 ratio. Duke is a tiny school and most of their students are nerds from the Northeast who go back there after college.

 

I would also say it's a thing in Nashville, and there are even a few Alabama football/UNC basketball people, unfortunately.

 

Interesting. Wonder to what extent if any Brandan Wright played into that. Hell, maybe I don’t realize how different it is growing up in a city like Nashville where there’s no set allegiance to a nearby team and joining onto whoever is good when you’re a kid is more common.

 

Blue Vol or Vol Devil