Amongst the fans, things can get pretty rowdy. Burned benches, hurled epithets and vicious cheers are hallmarks of the Duke-North Carolina basketball contests.
But aside from the bonfires and bedlam which occupy the crowds in the stands, there is a certain guarded camaraderie between the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels who spend their time on the floor and in the coaches' boxes.
"I have always felt that they have tremendous tradition at North Carolina and so do we, and it's based on good stuff," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Good kids, good coaches, good fans, good school. That makes it even better."
Perhaps the most evident example of the bonhomie between the teams takes place a long way from Tobacco Road, in Kaunas, Lithuania. Former Tar Heel point guard Ed Cota and onetime Blue Devil small forward Chris Carrawell are now teammates on Zalgiris, a Lithuanian basketball team.
Both players left the Triangle in 2000, and each has spent time in foreign and domestic basketball leagues. It was former rival Cota who procured a place for Carrawell, recommending the swingman to his coach.
There are Duke-UNC partnerships stateside, as well. Former UNC power forward Antawn Jamison and 2001-2002 Blue Devil captain Mike Dunleavy are now teammates on the NBA's Golden State Warriors. But perhaps the most Triangle-stocked squad is the Washington Wizards, who feature Duke legend Christian Laettner, as well as former Tar Heels Brendan Haywood, Jerry Stackhouse and Michael Jordan.
The camaraderie does not begin in the pros, however. Current UNC head coach Matt Doherty remembers the guarded friendliness from his days as a Tar Heel athlete.
"I didn't like some of their players, but in the summertime you'd play pickup games and you'd get to know them," Doherty said. "So there's respect there."
Duke center Casey Sanders notes that the rivalry's boundaries break down during everyday events such as trips to the barbershop. Tar Heel and Blue Devil players frequent the same barbershop in Chapel Hill. Half the barbers are Carolina fans; half support Duke.
"They get to talking and then it's on," Sanders said.
Friendships can even exist before college. For example, sharpshooters J.J. Redick of Duke and Rashad McCants of UNC know each other through high school elite teams and have an amicable relationship.
"But you can't keep any friendships on the court when you're playing," McCants said. "They're on the other side of the battlefield."
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