Going for four in a row...

Despite my best efforts to avoid talking about sports here, well, there's no way I can't not mention tonight's game between the forces of good - the wonderful, beautiful, marvelous North Carolina Tar Heels - and evil - the loathsome Blue Devils from the University of New Jersey at Durham. If you're from New Jersey and I've offended by my implications of a connection between your home state and Dook, well, deal with it. There's a lot of Garden State license plates in the parking lots in Durham.

During my time in Chapel Hill, the Heels had a pretty good run of luck against the Dookies. There were some thrilling games and a good time was had by all. Earlier in the decade, though, Dook got the upper hand and won something like 15 of 17 games. But, in the last three years the pendulum has swung back and Carolina has taken five of the last seven games including three in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium (the Dookies' home court).

That last number is important because, if Carolina wins tonight, it means an entire class of students at Dook will graduate having spent the better part of a year living in tents to see their team lose four times to Carolina. For those of you not familiar with the Dook camping-out ritual for the Carolina game, many of the students at this prestigious "institution of higher learning" have been living in tents for the past two months to get into the game tonight.

I consider myself a sports fan, but seriously? Two months in a tent for basketball tickets? I've spent three months in a tent, but I had a pretty good reason (mid-January through mid-April 1991). It's almost like the Dookies are trying to prove to themselves and everyone else they're better fans.

They are creative, I'll grant that. More annoying? Absolutely and without a doubt (I dare you to Google "Duke + Speedo Man"). But are they better fans because they suffer for their coveted riser space at Cameron? I don't think so.

In closing, I'd just like to say:

Go Heels!