If you are young, or came late to ACC basketball, you may not understand the depth of the rivalry between Carolina and State.
Maybe you think of State basketball history as a grainy clip of Jimmy V looking for someone to hug, followed by years of punishment at the hands of the Heels.
And it is true that now and for a long time and for certain times before that things come down to Dook Dook Dook for Carolina fans, but when I was a kid it was the Woofpack that we feared and loathed more than anything, and with good reason.
State fans remember, as Will Blythe said so well last year: "Now, decades past their glory years and filled with class resentment, the Wolfpack fans howled with fury every time Carolina came to town. UNC was the lover that had moved on and up, State the dumpee that had downsized into a dumpy apartment, where he spent the weekend microwaving frozen dinners and watching network TV."
And so today is a special day.
UPDATE: Special, as in not very good. If UNC lets Dook control the tempo thusly on Weds night it will be most unpleasant.
But I am feeling pretty good about my Sidney Lowe love.
Duke is puke, Wake is (not) fake, but the team we hate is NC State. We used to feel that way until we saw the true depth of evil that was Duke basketball. From their win-loss record, no recent coach at state has made a deal with the devil for success.
We hate Duke. Truly. Duke and Coach K represent all that is evil in this world. It is our wish that one day he will lose his voice forever so we never have to hear his potty mouth ever again. And we detest Wojo, Collins, and Paulus above almost all things. We really, really, hate Duke. Really.
Posted by: Gate | Feb 03, 2007 at 04:15 PM
We really, really, hate Duke. Really.*Gate
Have you consider a career move to become a KKK sports media Rep?
Posted by: Connie Mack Jr | Feb 03, 2007 at 04:29 PM
welcome to our dumpy apartment...hope you enjoyed your stay
Posted by: Patrick Eakes | Feb 03, 2007 at 05:50 PM
Jimmy V is smiling today.
GO PACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: drfranklives | Feb 03, 2007 at 05:50 PM
Go Pack indeed!!!!!
Hat off to the Heels, though. You stay on the edge of your seat until that last second ticks off, because you just never know...
Posted by: Doug H | Feb 03, 2007 at 06:04 PM
State really played a great game, it would have been a shame for them to lose on those last few missed free throws. Every time Carolina made a move, State countered. Good win for the Pack.
Posted by: Ed Cone | Feb 03, 2007 at 06:10 PM
Champs looked (sounded, game not on TV) good. Challengers less good. UF and UNC still the teams to beat. Hopefully they meet sometime in the tourney.
Posted by: Jim Caserta | Feb 03, 2007 at 06:30 PM
Just to rub a little more salt in the wound, your Spartans didn't look to hot today either. They ran into a Hot Wildcat team this afternoon.
Posted by: Eric | Feb 03, 2007 at 06:37 PM
My youngest is a State fan. Today was his first college game. I'm expecting a happy kid when he gets home tonight. How cool that State v. Carolina was his first game, and that his team won. :) (Our extended family has State, Carolina and Duke fans.)
Posted by: Cara Michele | Feb 03, 2007 at 06:40 PM
i was hopeful when fowler "settled" on lowe. Despite his intelligence and the fact he played for some great coaches, i wasn't convinced he was an acc caliber coach. After all, his NBA record was less than impressive. He had never coached a college game. and, hiring alums or coaches with professional experience has not exactly been a prescription for collegiate success.
But Lowe impressed me with the staff he assembled. He's done a better than average job on the recruiting trail. He's shown an ability to inspire a team and he's made good in-game adjustments.
I'm thrilled for Lowe and the team. They're now in good position to make the NIT. That would be an excellent start to the Lowe era.
Posted by: Greensboro transplant | Feb 03, 2007 at 06:43 PM
Disappointing loss, for sure. It's hard to beat any team that shoots 70%+ for the game. State had a great game and just plain beat Carolina.
I agree, that if the magic bullet to beat Carolina is to just slow down the game, we're in trouble against Duke. That would make us a 12-deep bench with a single trick. I don't suspect it'll be that easy for every team. If NC State hadn't shot so well, I don't think the outcome would've been the same.
I, for one, immediately contacted a NC State fan friend to congratulate them. We got spanked.
Posted by: Ryan | Feb 03, 2007 at 07:21 PM
It was actually 60% shooting for the game, but the key was outrebounding UNC-CH 31-25. State's woes earlier in the season were tied to the glass and the loss of Atsur.
Posted by: Patrick Eakes | Feb 03, 2007 at 07:43 PM
Insults from guys named after a girl don't bother us much.
Posted by: Gate | Feb 04, 2007 at 09:28 AM
Your love for Lowe should begin and end with that hideous red blazer! I don't want to say that was ugly, but Norm Sloan took one look at it and said "DAMN!".
Posted by: Britt Whitmire | Feb 04, 2007 at 12:20 PM
You're right. It was 76% in the second half, which is amazing.
Posted by: Ryan | Feb 04, 2007 at 12:27 PM
Went to a party last night. A die-hard State fan told me, You wear that blazer and you had BETTER win.
He was happy, my friend. Lots of happy State fans at the party, trying not to gloat. Lots of grim Carolina fans, trying to be gracious. Lots of Dook fans, trying to figure out if they should gloat openly with UNC coming to town next week. And a lot of Wake fans, wishing we could still talk about football...
Posted by: Ed Cone | Feb 04, 2007 at 12:51 PM
I would say the Duke loss took the sting out of last night's Tarheel blunder. Now, tonight I have to go to a Super Bowl party with a bunch of State fans and eat crow for all my smack talking over the last few years. I'll take it like a man. :)
Posted by: Ryan | Feb 04, 2007 at 04:34 PM