A competitive rivalry between equals

These columns have to be turned in two nights before they are going to be published, but I am going to go out on a limb here to say that last night's basketball game was magnificent. Furthermore, I am happy to see the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's team turning their recent misfortunes around, even though it is (potentially) at the Blue Devils' expense. Both teams fought hard and deserve a lot of credit.

You see, my philosophy of a sports rivalry is unconventional. I do not see any reason for fans and players to regard each other with bitter hatred. Perhaps when one rival is clearly more successful than another-for example, the mighty New York Yankees and the hapless Boston Red Sox-those feelings may be justified, but not when both sides are exceptional competitors so consistently. In the games leading up to the renewal of the rivalry, I pull for both Carolina and Duke so that the game will again be between the two best teams in the conference. When Carolina beats Duke in an epic ACC battle, it is a testament to the strength of both programs because you know that the outcome of the game could have easily been reversed. Do I want my team to win? Yeah. But if not, that's OK. The only situation when I am disappointed is if one of the teams plays poorly.

I guess that I should lay my cards on the table right here, right now: I am a recently converted Blue Devil fan. For the first 18 years of my life, I rooted for the team that wears a lighter shade of blue. I barely remember celebrating Dean Smith's first national championship, sipping special commemorative "Carolina Blue Soda" with my dad, a proud Chapel Hill alumnus. I only rooted for Duke when Carolina's run in the NCAA tournament had ended, and I was quite pleased to see their string of championships cut by Donald Williams and the '93 Heels.

Now I love rooting for Coach K and the fierce competitors that he produces every year. A Trajan Langdon jump shot was just as beautiful as those of Donald Williams. I do not mind the darker shade of blue. But I do not hate UNC-and you shouldn't either. That is one thing that really bothers me about my experiences cheering for Duke over the past three and a half years. There are a lot of people here who cannot mentally separate their support for our basketball team and an opportunity to attack UNC as an academic institution.

There is a pervasive attitude amongst our fans that Duke players are better not only because of superior athletic and team preparation, but because of their intellectual skills. These people forget that, while Duke University is one of the 10 best schools in the country, the University of North Carolina is an elite institution as well. For all of that talk about the evils of Tar Heel early entry to the NBA draft, we forget that six of Dean Smith's nine draftees have earned their degrees and are now just as prepared for life after the NBA as our four-year stars like Grant Hill and Christian Laettner. But, aside from having equally intelligent players, the regular students are no slouches either-and to believe otherwise is to prove ourselves just as ignorant as we say they are.

Part of this problem comes from our love affair with stupid Tar Heel jokes. When we call their students "hicks" and "rednecks," it insults the large percentage of Duke students and 100 percent of Duke employees who hail from this state. Making fun of former UNC star J.R. Reid for his supposed illiteracy was elitist, cruel and racist. These attitudes are endemic of our callous and haughty treatment of Carolina at this time of year. The pages of this newspaper are often littered with Tar Heel putdowns, from our "humor" columnists and cartoonists to The Chronicle's annual "Daily Tar Hole" parody. If you want more evidence of racism, check out the novelty afro that the editors stuck on Antawn Jamison's head a few years back. Continuing with these silly and ignorant practices seems to prove that we lack the class we so often claim to have.

Do not get me wrong. When we beat Carolina, I think that it is fine to puff up our feathers and crow. I even cheer, "Go to Hell, Carolina!" on occasion. I love my team, but I respect my rivals. That is what, for me, takes the sting out of a Carolina win and what makes a Duke victory even sweeter. So let's stop acting like we are the southern Harvard striking a blow for intellectual basketball fans everywhere by defeating the "Podunk University of Agriculture and Technology." Our rivals in Chapel Hill are our equals in every way, and they can prove it in the classroom just as well as they can on the basketball court.

David Margolis is a Trinity senior.