When we think of sports we remember the rivalries more than anything. The legendary battles between the Celtics and Lakers in the 80's or even the Pistons and Celtics in the Eastern conference finals of old. We think of the Yankees and Red Sox or the Cowboys and 49ers in football. The games that were played between these opponents are what ingrains a hatred for each side. As the new players emerge and the old ones retire these preconceptions remain. In college football storied programs that have since fallen into irrelevance allow for the rivalry games that were once all that mattered to diminish. Michigan and Ohio State come to mind first with Michigan being without a victory in what seems like a century.
Like Vinatieri leaving New England and joining Indianapolis or Damon heading for the Bronx, these teams thirst to grab the players held in reverence by the faithful fans of each. Without these feuds we lose interest, and further more we lose hope. Would we watch these games with the same fire if both teams were bottom of the barrel and clinging to the reputation of old? (COUGH*Notre Dame*COUGH)The answer is no. That is the reason Notre Dame continues to fall short year after year. The interest is gone and the new generation faintly remembers what once was.
As a Duke fan the biggest rivalry games each year are played against the Tar Heels. The meetings between ACC opponents almost always breed the deepest of hatred especially when the conference tournament is almost a blood sport on hardwood. Tonight the Heels enter Cameron Indoor with a budding freshman guard by the name of Harrison Barnes, visited by both programs on the same night during recruitment, and settling on North Carolina as his initial stop on the way to the NBA there is more to this game than mere X's and O's. These teams hunger for the opportunity to defeat each other and tonight is no exception.
Deeper than this singular game the instance of such a rivalry is what grants a meaning to regular season games. The need for the teams involved to be perennial powerhouses (i,e. Patriots and Colts) is inarguable. Without winning teams there are no rivalries. Whether it be recruits or players lost in free agency nothing is sacred, only the games to be played. To the casual fan a Wednesday game with a ranked team playing the unknown is just a step towards March but this game is the Main Event. Whether these teams meet in the conference championship or later in the midst of Madness, this game sets the tone. The constant rumble of the fans and the squeak of rubber on the floor is the soundtrack to the opening credits of the movie that is this season in the ACC.
Once a rivalry becomes a one sided affair it is no more. With both Duke and North Carolina having won NCAA titles in the very recent past this game still rages on as the clearest representation of a pure rivalry. Undiluted by marquee contracts and players with reputations preceding them, this game is America. The clash of the titans if you will, that reminds us that competition breeds success and success breeds the will to return to the battlefield.
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