My cousin Tony told me about the NCAA championship game in 1981. I hadn't even watched it. He was talking about how bad [[good) Al Wood was and that North Carolina should have beaten Indiana. I kind of shrugged but started paying attention to UNC. The more that I learned about Dean Smith, the more I realized that he was something special and he's the first reason I started rooting for the team. Of course, the next year was the freshman year for Michael Jordan and with that classic win over Georgetown, I was hooked.
If I was in solitary confinement and there was one TV with no remote control and UNC was in the NCAA championship game, Atlanta was playing Miami in the Super Bowl, the Mets were in the World Series, and the Sixers were playing Denver in the NBA finals, I'd tell the jailer to put it on UNC.
And I know that the Rivalry is more intense for the fans than the players. But I dislike dook with a passion. It's no coincidence that when players have been bloodied or elbowed in games between us over the decades, it is literally always the North Carolina player getting hurt. And half the time, there are no fouls called. I can't stand them and if they literally lose every game for the next 20 years, I'll still have a boiling desire to see them lose their next contest as well.
Rant ends. Jerry still doesn't feel better for getting it off of his chest.
Bookmarks