It's hard to explain the Duke-Carolina rivalry.
It's hard to understand why this game means so much to so many people. The fans and media treat the game as if it were war, when it's anything but.
The players don't hate each other. Hell, some of them are even friends. They see each other all the time and they even play together in the offseason. So how come just a few months removed from a summer pickup game does all the world suddenly take notice?
"It means more to our fans, our alumni, our students than the actual players," Tar Heel center Brendan Haywood said. "The players, we know each other. We play each other in the summer and we're used to each other, so it's just another game.
"I think the fans take a lot of things too seriously. I'm not talking about our fans, but fans of basketball in general, sometime lose sight of the fact that this is a game. That's all it is. Just a game."
Just another game.
That's a phrase uttered umpteen hundred times yesterday as both Duke and UNC held pre-game press conferences. But if it was just another game, why the press conference?
"The hype is always huge for this game, but it's only one game," Chris Carrawell said. "Beating Carolina definitely doesn't make our season. If they look at beating Duke as making their season, that's kinda sad."
Sure, this game counts the same as a win over Clemson, but when its Duke-North Carolina, everything changes. And even if the players say it's the same as any other game, they know it's a lie. It's not life-or-death like some fans make it out to be, but any player will tell you it's the most enjoyment they'll have on the basketball court all year.
Nothing can quite compare to the atmosphere surrounding a Duke-North Carolina basketball game. It is not a war, it's simply fun.
"The analogy I use is it's sort of like someone who has never tasted a hot fudge sundae," Shane Battier said. "You hear how great it is, how delicious it is, but until you put the first spoonful in your mouth, you really can't savor it and understand what the greatness is about. The same holds true for this game.... Until you go in and experience, hear the crowd and go out for warm-ups, you really can't understand it."
I'll never forget my first Duke-Carolina game in Cameron. It was one of the most enjoyable moments of my collegiate career. Everyone tells me that the game my sophomore year-the one where Duke overcame a 17-point deficit-was better, but for me, nothing can ever top that game in 1997. It was my first. And when Trajan hit that three to seal the deal, I experienced a joy and a sense of camaraderie that I doubt I'll ever again experience at a sporting event.
While Duke-Carolina means no more than any other game, to look strictly at the won-loss column is to miss the point entirely. Even if the players are friends, even if one team is down, it doesn't matter. Tomorrow night, you're either a Duke fan or a Carolina fan, and no other team in the country really matters.
Growing up in Boston, where college sports have the importance, of say, the Carolina Hurricanes do here, I never truly understood the rivalry. I saw it on TV every year, but it didn't leave an impact on me. But now that I'm here, I finally understand, even if I can't really explain it. My friends back home will never understand the six weeks I spent in a tent my sophomore year, but that's ok, I get it. I know that 20 years from now when I look back at my college career, I'll have plenty of great memories courtesy of the greatest rivalry in sports.
"To me, the series, the longer I've been in it and the older I get, the more I understand how important Duke-Carolina games are for college basketball because they are showcase games," Mike Krzyzewski said. "When these two schools play, it's about tradition, history, all the great players and the coaches who have had the privilege of representing those schools.
"You have two of the top four winningest programs in the history of the game playing. Both programs over the years... they've done it the right way. We both have had great kids, a lot of pros, a lot of championships. I don't see how it gets any better than that."
Tomorrow night we'll witness another chapter to that tradition. A new chapter written by new people, including Jason Williams, who vividly remembers watching the Duke-Carolina games on TV as a kid. A young Williams watched the nation's elite do battle, and dreamed big dreams.
"It means a lot [to now be a part of the rivalry]," the freshman point guard said. "It meant a lot to me to even come here. There is such a great tradition here and I've looked forward to playing this game for a really long time. Watching on TV with my father and my mother, and I was like, 'One day I'm going to be there. I'm going to be doing that.' Now it's like a dream come true."
And when Williams takes the court for the first time tomorrow night, he'll experience something unlike anything he's ever experienced. And a nation will feel it too. It's more than just a game. It's Duke-Carolina. A good time will be had by all.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW is a weekly column written by a Chronicle sports columnist. It appears every Wednesday.
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