If you’ve ever argued with a UNC-Chapel Hill fan, you’ve probably heard it already: “Our rival is Duke, not N.C. State.” The irony in this statement, among many others from the UNC fan base, stems from the idea that if we weren’t their rivals, then why do UNC-CH fans need to constantly remind themselves of it?
We’re not asking for UNC-CH fans’ scorn, but rather for the respect that competitive adversaries merit. It’s easy to remember N.C. State’s most recent basketball rut, but to ignore us as rivals is to ignore sports history.
As sports writer Thad Williamson put it, there was a time when N.C. State’s “David Thompson, not [UNC-CH’s] Michael Jordan, was the high-flying legend young players dreamed of becoming … a time when fans would circle Carolina-State and Duke-State games on their calendars just as fast — or faster — than the semi-annual Carolina-Duke games.”
We said it once: We’re back. To ignore our talent and competitiveness is to ignore Saturday’s scoreboard. UNC-CH head coach Roy Williams summed up the game best, saying, “We stunk.” For the head coach to modestly express this unseen sense of humility, the fans should catch on too. But the Wolfpack didn’t win only because the Heels played poorly — it won because it’s a strong team, one of the best in the nation.
Our basketball team is not an adjunct department to the Ag Institute, and State played a game to prove that point. Nevertheless, the Wolfpack played a skillful game. We’re not asking for UNC-CH fans to boo our team when it enters the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill Feb. 23, we’re just asking them to recognize the Pack as more than another team that’s not Duke.
Another common complaint UNC-CH fans bring up includes, “N.C. State fans are so obnoxious.” Though the Wolfpack is backed by many outspoken fans, if we were treated as more than just aggies and techies, we’d have a lot more respect for the Tar Heels. Sportsmanship is based off of mutual respect, and it takes both sides to recognize each other and reciprocate civility.
In October, Dexter Strickland, a Tar Heel point guard, gained notoriety from Wolfpack fans for his comments via Twitter about N.C. State’s favorable preseason ranking, No. 6 in the nation.
“[State is] the least of our worries,” Strickland tweeted. “[If they] beat us one year… then they can talk smack. Until then, you can’t put them in the mix.”
As chants lampooning Strickland proliferated throughout Saturday’s matchup, it became clear that Strickland’s trash talk isn’t going to stop State from achieving, and as sportsmanlike rivals, we let our shots on the court speak for us. Maybe in a month, UNC-CH can do that too. Of course, that may not be enough to defeat us — but we sure would like to see the Tar Heels take a shot.
