There are defining moments from the Duke-Carolina rivalry that those of us who are lucky enough to be a (small) part of it will always remember. Jerry Stackhouse dunking over 14 feet of Duke post players. Matt Doherty hitting The Shot. Chris Duhon going length of the floor while David Noel sets a screen on Raymond Felton. Tyler Hansbrough pulling up for 3 with 2 on the shot clock as a freshman in Cameron Indoor.
And, unfortunately, Roy Williams looking depressed, frustrated, and everything in between following his Heels' 32-point beating at the hands of the Blue Devils 1 year ago.
Luckily, Dexter Strickland gave us another defining moment that helps to erase any memory of that last one.
First, let me just say that I am not going to do nearly as fine a job recounting that moment as Adam Lucas, and you should definitely read his piece after this (if you haven't already).
But that moment, and the completely uninhibited joy and celebration which followed it, perfectly defined what this season has been for UNC and all of us who call ourselves fans. Up 13 with a minute to play, with the game in hand to everyone who has not lived through the brutal Year from Hell, watching Dexter Strickland drop the hammer on Miles Plumlee put all of that behind us. That dunk perfectly summarized what was a surprisingly dominant wire-to-wire victory for a young team that just 6 weeks prior had taken a 78-58 beating at the hands of terrible Georgia Tech.
Those in the national media who mocked UNC fans for rushing the floor do not understand 1) the Duke-Carolina rivalry or 2) how much we love this team. As I wrote in my pregame post, the Duke-UNC rivalry is so much about momentum and the swing of the pendulum. Each program has used the success of the other in order to motivate its own team to achieve greater things. Last year's Duke team is the perfect example of that. And now, this year's UNC team just may be an example of that. Don't believe me? Take a look at what the winner of the Duke-UNC regular season finale has done since 2004 (when Ol' Roy came back to Chapel Hill):
2004: Final Four
2005: National Championship
2006: 2nd round
2007: Elite Eight
2008: Final Four
2009: National Championship
2010: National Championship
Wow. I have always stated that the single greatest thing about the Duke-UNC rivalry is that it makes each program greater. And on Saturday night, after 23 months of having that proven to us on the wrong shade of blue, we learned it again. And in the middle we did it by absolutely dominating a bitter rival on our home floor after 23 months of frustration. So excuse us if we rush the floor to celebrate. Hopefully now the Heels can back up that impressive run shown above.
The other thing that outsiders do not understand is the attachment we have all grown for this team. These guys clearly love playing with each other and are obviously having a fantastic time putting on the Carolina Blue every week. As an alum of the same school they are so happy to represent, that makes me like them and cheer for them even harder. Nowhere was the special attachment between fans and this team shown more strongly than on the face of Kendall Marshall after the game was over and the stands were emptying. There was Marshall, raising his arms in the air, bouncing up and down, and smiling. Afterward in the press conference and then again on his Twitter account, Marshall emphasized how proud he was to see how happy the fans were as they rushed the floor. And that's a perfect response, because everywhere in Chapel Hill on Saturday night were fans who were so happy with what they had just watched. So excuse us if we tried to let the players in on it.
I don't know when the high will end from this game, but I do know that this season more than any highlights the need to enjoy the ride with each basketball season. Carolina may not be the last team standing in Reliant Stadium in a month, but I daresay no one will have enjoyed this season as much as Carolina fans. And if this post seems a bit overly rosy and optimistic, that's good. It was just that kind of weekend.
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