Compare And Contrast Duke And Carolina Rivalry

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A COMPARE AND CONTRAST OF THE REASONS BEHIND THE DUKE AND CAROLINA RIVALRY A Compare and Contrast of the Reasons behind the Duke and Carolina Rivalry Impassioned rivalries have been around since the beginning of time. Sports teams account for most of the biggest of these rivalries. College sports rivalries are extremely intense. The most intense of these rivalries is the Carolina-Duke rivalry, particularly in men’s basketball, between The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. It is considered by ESPN to be one of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. Duke and UNC have a rivalry that encompasses every relationship between the two schools from academics to athletics, and the reasons behind this…show more content…
Duke and Carolina have battled each other 234 times since 1920. Both schools play at the top level consistently every year in men’s basketball. The main differences between these two schools are the types of play. Carolina recruits and plays more athletic professional type players. Carolina’s style of play is more of a fast break type of basketball that relies on raw athletic talent of the individual player. They rely on pressure defense to create a quick steal or turnover to quickly speed down to the other side of the court for a quick chance to score. Carolina relies on a quick run and gun style to attempt to outrun and out score their opponent. Duke recruits a different type of player then Carolina. Duke’s players are more fundamental sound but less athletic as a whole then Carolina. Duke runs a style designed more on traditional half-court offense. This includes running screens to free up their 3 point shooters. Duke also relies on a tough man to man defense to wear down their opponent. Both schools styles of play provide good results. The Duke home games are played at a small gym known as Cameron Indoor stadium. This venue has a large section set aside for students. These students are known as “Cameron Crazies”. These students add to the rivalry by using body paint, signs, and chants to psychologically annoy the other team. These Crazies come out in full force during Carolina games. This adds…show more content…
Moreover the differences come more from the socioeconomic situations of the students. The stigma given to Duke that the University is a “rich school” drives much of the dislike. Basketball drives the rivalry but it goes much deeper than that. The school colors are even similar while having differences. Duke is royal blue and Carolina is a light blue known as “Carolina Blue”. The schools both win on a consistence basis with completely different styles and completely different types of players. With the high level of competition between the schools this fierce rivalry is here to stay. This rivalry will continue to grow with intensity as the schools continue their battles on the basketball court. There is not a right or wrong choice concerning Duke or Carolina. Both teams are well respected. Also both teams have a large fans base. Some of the animosity between the teams goes from bragging rights to complete hatred. Both teams will continue their strong performance and this rivalry has many more years to

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