A rivalry by definition is a person or thing competing with another for superiority. This defines the UNC-Duke basketball rivalry that began between the two powerhouse schools in 1920, a rivalry also known as one of the biggest and most historic in college basketball.
Both teams have continued to battle it out at least twice  a year since then, and anyone who refuses to call it a rivalry obviously isn’t a basketball fan. For many of us, the eight miles between Chapel Hill and Durham represents the road from Heaven to Hell, and, for all of us, it means the game of a lifetime.
The only difference in the rivalry today is that it no longer just takes place on the court. The rivalry of all rivalries has become a way of life for both fans and students. Even more so, in a generation of technology, the rivalry has gone viral.
As any Tar Heel or Duke fan knows, UNC-Duke is way more than a game, it’s a long-time tradition and a feeling of school pride that only a lucky few of us get to experience. In today’s world, the extreme support for both the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils is expressed in a multitude of social media outlets.
YouTube is useful for both pre-game pump-ups as well as “This Is Why Duke Sucks” trash talk. Recent campus celebrity, Ricky Mac released a video last week that quickly became a YouTube sensation with over 40,000 views already. The video, called The Legacy, is enough to give you goose bumps as he portrays the legacy that Carolina basketball has left and continues to leave through his rap song.
Facebook has also become a place for expression for fans and students alike. Before the game, my newsfeed was filled with status quotes from the infamous Tucker Max to the long-lived “Why I Hate Duke” article by 1990 Daily Tar Heel columnist, Ian Williams.
More than just status updates however, were the changes in profile pictures, cover photos and unfortunate aftermath photos (which were ironically posted by the masses of State fans).
As Twitter rises in the social media world, it also has become a dominant place for trash talk, and not just from fans and students but also celebrities and authority figures.
Chancellor Thorp contributed to the rivalry when he tweeted, “Our students are talking about the future and asking smart questions instead of wasting time sitting in a tent” (referring to Duke students camping out for tickets) which he later apologized for.
Tucker Max, the infamous author of “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” tweeted, “Why do people think I’m a Duke fan? I hated Duke, it sucked. The only good thing about Duke is that its 15 minutes from Chapel Hill.” While there are many celebrities in support of the Duke Blue Devils as well, I have to say I couldn’t agree more with Tucker Max.
With twitter accounts like @ShitUNCFansSay and @DukeProblems and with three-point-shot-at-the-buzzer-to-win-by-one-point types of games, the trash-talking is inevitable, and the rivalry is as alive as ever.
       While hearts broke all over Twitter and Facebook Wednesday night, there was never a moment where the students were not proud to be a part of the Tar Heel family. And as we woke up Thursday to a beautiful Carolina blue sky, I think we can all tweet and Facebook with confidence that there is truly no place we would rather be. Meanwhile, we can all anxiously await for the biggest rivalry in college basketball to continue to live up to its legacy on March 3, this time however, with a different outcome.
#TarHeelNation #GoHeelsGoAmerica
Sources:
“Two Teams One Rivalry” (photo): dukebasketballnews.com; http://dukebasketballnews.tumblr.com/post/17265157124/today-is-the-day-duke-vs-unc-at-9pm-et-on-espn
Image of team huddle (photo): bullcitystateofmind.com; http://www.bullcitystateofmind.com/home/2011/11/18/can-north-carolina-basketball-live-up-to-the-hype-in-2011-20.html
Tucker Max tweet (photo): twitter.com;
https://twitter.com/#!/TuckerMax
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