Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops
“To Hell with Carolina,”
–From the Duke Fight Song
“Go to Hell, Duke!”
–Last line, Tar Heel Fight Song
For fifty years the rivalry between Duke and Carolina has featured famous brawls, endless controversy, long-nurtured hatred–and some of the best basketball ever played in the history of the sport. For Duke and UNC players and fans, the competition is not about winning a prize, trophy or title. The reason students at both schools camp out for days to get tickets–is about bragging rights and raw pride.
Fueled by a proximity of eight miles along Tobacco Road, these two highly respected academic institutions have a rivalry of contrasts: powder blue vs. royal blue; public vs. private; Southerners versus Northern transplants; Michael Jordan and Vince Carter vs. Grant Hill and Christian Laettner. And now, with former Tar Heel assistant Roy Williams the new head coach of UNC, and Mike Krzyzewski still going strong at Duke–the rivalry only continues.
Blue Blood is a thrilling chronicle of the Duke-Carolina rivalry as it has evolved over the last fifty years. With unparalleled insider access, veteran journalist and author Art Chansky details the colorful, revered, and respected rivalry–for the first time ever. Chansky has seen every Duke-Carolina game since 1968 and now gives readers the never-before-told details, the story behind the story of this rivalry that has polarized the nation.
The Duke-Carolina rivalry has fostered more than thirty former players from the two schools playing or coaching in the NBA; it has cultivated a maniacal subculture of fans who camp out for weeks just to get tickets to the seasonal match-ups; it has enchanted a nation of spectators to watch games between the archrivals–garnering some of the highest regular-season TV ratings in history. Blue Blood celebrates the history of this rivalry, the traditions, the heritage, and, most importantly–spectacular basketball.
–From the Duke Fight Song
“Go to Hell, Duke!”
–Last line, Tar Heel Fight Song
For fifty years the rivalry between Duke and Carolina has featured famous brawls, endless controversy, long-nurtured hatred–and some of the best basketball ever played in the history of the sport. For Duke and UNC players and fans, the competition is not about winning a prize, trophy or title. The reason students at both schools camp out for days to get tickets–is about bragging rights and raw pride.
Fueled by a proximity of eight miles along Tobacco Road, these two highly respected academic institutions have a rivalry of contrasts: powder blue vs. royal blue; public vs. private; Southerners versus Northern transplants; Michael Jordan and Vince Carter vs. Grant Hill and Christian Laettner. And now, with former Tar Heel assistant Roy Williams the new head coach of UNC, and Mike Krzyzewski still going strong at Duke–the rivalry only continues.
Blue Blood is a thrilling chronicle of the Duke-Carolina rivalry as it has evolved over the last fifty years. With unparalleled insider access, veteran journalist and author Art Chansky details the colorful, revered, and respected rivalry–for the first time ever. Chansky has seen every Duke-Carolina game since 1968 and now gives readers the never-before-told details, the story behind the story of this rivalry that has polarized the nation.
The Duke-Carolina rivalry has fostered more than thirty former players from the two schools playing or coaching in the NBA; it has cultivated a maniacal subculture of fans who camp out for weeks just to get tickets to the seasonal match-ups; it has enchanted a nation of spectators to watch games between the archrivals–garnering some of the highest regular-season TV ratings in history. Blue Blood celebrates the history of this rivalry, the traditions, the heritage, and, most importantly–spectacular basketball.
“I’m biased, but I think this is the greatest rivalry, not just in college basketball, but in all of sports. .. You believe this is just another game? Are you serious? Are you serious? There’s no way you can tell these kids it’s just another game.”
–Dick Vitale, ESPN
“Having been loved and loathed by fans of both schools, glad-handed and banned on both campuses, I know the passion that fuels the Duke-Carolina rivalry. Art Chansky has more than learned what Duke-Carolina is all about; he’s lived it for more than thirty years. His columns, commentaries, and characterizations have long been on the money, and Blue Blood puts them all together in an anticipated and entertaining work that reads more like a novel. But truth is stranger than fiction, and Chansky tells it just like it is.”
–Curry Kirkpatrick, who has covered Duke-Carolina for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and ESPN the Magazine
“Across the rolling Piedmont and through the pines of the Old North State, there’s a whisper of anticipation. The ‘Blues’ are about to run again. Powder and royal. Eight miles…two schools…two programs…one driving passion to excel. In the mecca of this great game, it is THE rivalry. This is no mere game, no mere rivalry. This is a phenomenon . . .this is Duke-Carolina.”
–From ESPN Opening, February 5, 2004
“It’s not about me vs. Dean, or me against Roy or Dean against Vic Bubas. Duke and Carolina will be here forever.”
–Mike Krzyzewski
“I was hit three times and spit at during the whole game before I started to fight.” –Art Heyman
“Eight miles away sat a legend, perhaps the greatest coach of all time. I was inundated with thoughts of beating Dean Smith. If we couldn’t beat him, we could never get to where we were thinking about.”
–Tom Butters, former Duke Athletics Director
–Dick Vitale, ESPN
“Having been loved and loathed by fans of both schools, glad-handed and banned on both campuses, I know the passion that fuels the Duke-Carolina rivalry. Art Chansky has more than learned what Duke-Carolina is all about; he’s lived it for more than thirty years. His columns, commentaries, and characterizations have long been on the money, and Blue Blood puts them all together in an anticipated and entertaining work that reads more like a novel. But truth is stranger than fiction, and Chansky tells it just like it is.”
–Curry Kirkpatrick, who has covered Duke-Carolina for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and ESPN the Magazine
“Across the rolling Piedmont and through the pines of the Old North State, there’s a whisper of anticipation. The ‘Blues’ are about to run again. Powder and royal. Eight miles…two schools…two programs…one driving passion to excel. In the mecca of this great game, it is THE rivalry. This is no mere game, no mere rivalry. This is a phenomenon . . .this is Duke-Carolina.”
–From ESPN Opening, February 5, 2004
“It’s not about me vs. Dean, or me against Roy or Dean against Vic Bubas. Duke and Carolina will be here forever.”
–Mike Krzyzewski
“I was hit three times and spit at during the whole game before I started to fight.” –Art Heyman
“Eight miles away sat a legend, perhaps the greatest coach of all time. I was inundated with thoughts of beating Dean Smith. If we couldn’t beat him, we could never get to where we were thinking about.”
–Tom Butters, former Duke Athletics Director
