State/Carolina – It Used To Be All That Mattered

Big Four Rivals51

Those of you under the age of 30 (or older if you didn’t grow up in North Carolina) may not remember this, but the schoolyard used to segregate itself with this simple binary choice – State or Carolina. That’s it. Things got inevitably more heated during the winter, as UNC fans had a tendency not to like football until well into the Mack Brown era. But I could count the Wake fans in my school on one hand, and believe it or not, there were even fewer Duke partisans. Raleigh native, frequent NPR contributor, and hilarious essayist David Sedaris even has his own take:

YouTube audio or print excerpt.

Flash forward to February 23, 2011. On SFN’s message boards, we are discussing whether or not anyone really cares who wins tonight.

Doesn’t that sum up everything you need to know about the last two decades of Wolfpack hoops?

This can also be the open game thread, for those so inclined to want one.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

Big Four Rivals

51 Responses to State/Carolina – It Used To Be All That Mattered

  1. 87stategrad 02/23/2011 at 5:00 PM #

    There are some great game clips from the 1985 State-Carolina game in Reynolds posted on YouTube. I still have my ticket stub from that game. I get chills every time I see it. We demolished the ‘Holes, and it wasn’t an upset. We fully expected to win, and we did. A lot. I don’t think anyone “under the age of 30” can really understand or appreciate it. I’ve been patiently waiting for those days to return, and I’ll “never give up” the dream.

  2. Pacobee 02/23/2011 at 5:00 PM #

    So do I pull for us to win or not? If we lose, it’s one more nail in Sidney’s exit news conference. If we win, Lee Fowler might keep him another year. Woah, wait a minute, we have Debbie now! Let’s kick some Tar Heel but because we Debbie will make it right regardless. Anything short of a ACC Tourney win will likely spell the end of the Blazer.

    I am hoping he brings back the bow tie tonight.

    Go Pack!

  3. primacyone 02/23/2011 at 5:02 PM #

    Opportunity Knocks.

  4. primacyone 02/23/2011 at 5:04 PM #

    Eveyone knows the bow tie is warn in memorandum and tribute right?

  5. primacyone 02/23/2011 at 5:05 PM #

    Dang we need an edit function. I’ve got two post ^ and ^^ that need editing. Dang Iphone.

  6. BJD95 02/23/2011 at 5:43 PM #

    My favorite part is when Sedaris says “you could turn up your nose at Coke, the President, or even God himself” – but you had to have an answer for “State or Carolina?”

    Some day, perhaps we will get our mojo back. I sure hope so.

  7. wufpaxno1 02/23/2011 at 5:46 PM #

    I grew up in the Thompson Era, at the time I was one of the handful of Wake fans on the playground, both of my parents having graduated from Wake. My sister was at State in the early 70’s so State was always a close second in my young and less informed mind. I was at State in ’83, really enjoyed the ride and will always have a special place in my heart for Sidney, Thurl, Derek, and the rest of the boys as a team. For those less fortunate then to have those memories I will state unequivocally that beating Carolina was always the expectation and never the exception back then. Oh how I long for those days again. Well I guess I should be grateful that the fall Butch slapping has become an annual event. Go Pack!!!

  8. packof81 02/23/2011 at 5:48 PM #

    I hate to admit the tarhole fans are right about us not being their rival anymore. We ain’t and it’s been a long time since we were even serious competition for them.

    I don’t like losing to the tarholes but I’m more concerned about the long term, which might actually be better served by us losing tonight. The worse this season ultimately turns out to be, the easier Debbie Yow’s decision will be.

  9. Hungwolf 02/23/2011 at 5:50 PM #

    I believe Monte Towe and David Thompson never lost to UNC as a player, if so it was only once. Sure it is hard to imagine that for some these days.

    Equally hard to imagine that in my opinion the UNC Board of Govs forced out Coach V cause they were concerend with his popularity and his potential to make State a major force nationally (especially considering we talking about a coach that turned down UCLA) and better than their beloved UNX.

    When I was a kid it was the State and UNC rivalry, little talk about a Duke UNC rivalry.

    I think a good coach would turn the game tonight into a half court slug fest like BC did and give us a chance. I say make Vandenberg the hatchet man and lets have at it tonight!

  10. Pacobee 02/23/2011 at 5:57 PM #

    Yes, I know why he wore the bow tie…but it made him look smarter. I think he should roll with it.

  11. apexpacker 02/23/2011 at 6:01 PM #

    The only thing to say today:

    GO PACK!

    GO TO HELL CAROLINA!

    Anything else should be saved for the end of the season.

  12. wolfie91 02/23/2011 at 6:02 PM #

    My nickname tells you my grad year, so yes, I’m over 30. I remember once in elementary school discussing who we each liked – the Cowboys or the Redskins, Cale Yarbrough or Richard Petty, and State or UNC. Skins, Petty, Pack all the way!

  13. swamppack 02/23/2011 at 6:07 PM #

    “Do you like State or Carolina?”

    That one simple question brought back some very good memories. I was born in ’68 so the mid-seventies and all through the eighties were synonymous with this question for me.

    Nostalgia isn’t for everyone but I love it. It’s honestly all I have to hang on to concerning State b-ball.(well, a hope for the future too)

    The whole culture in the state of N.C. used to be touched by this rivalry. I remember even my friends’ moms, not just thier dads, talking about State/Carolina. My family, the corner store, my school teachers, church. Everywhere you went was State/Carolina.

    Now, like you said BJD95, look where we are today, asking does tonight even matter, and rightfully so. The state of N.C. has been robbed of something very special, and pardon the pun, the ball is in N.C. State’s court to bring it back.

  14. Texpack 02/23/2011 at 6:19 PM #

    Towe and Thompson lost to UNC-CH twice during their senior year. Once in Carmichael and once in the ACC Tournament Finals in Greensboro. They never lost to UNC-CH prior to that. Hopefully we will play well and win tonight. I’d like for the young guys to get a taste of how it feels to beat UNC-CH that they can carry forward. I’d also like for Sidney to get bookend victories over them as a coach, just like he did as a player.

  15. leewolf 02/23/2011 at 6:41 PM #

    I want State to win tonight, no question. And the game still matters to a lot of folks. But the level of apathy is high with our fan base, especially among fans around my age (under 30). I had two extra tickets for the game tonight and struggled to find a State fan willing to take them FOR FREE. I’m talking about folks who are State alums. Would this have happened ten years ago? How about 20?

    Make no mistake, among the same people I went to (before someone finally accepted), if these were State v. Carolina football tickets, they would have been gone in a heartbeat to the first person that I asked, or at the very latest the second.

    The fact is that for the people under the age of 25 or 30, State is a football school with basketball coming in second.

  16. BassPacker 02/23/2011 at 6:56 PM #

    A few of my friends and I had this very same conversation today. Just a shame that the stat of NCSU basketball program makes the rivalry only a memory for most. Most of us are all over 40 so we remember when it ‘meant’ something. Can remember as a kid how the school was divided by shoe color. You wore either light blue or red Chuck Taylor All Star Converses. It was a big deal the day of the game and after. Also remember the match up was played on Super Bowl Sunday a couple times, billed as Super Sunday.

  17. golf76 02/23/2011 at 6:58 PM #

    Just for grins, does anyone else remember the ACC championship game when State beat Duke 12 – 10? Went on to the NCAA and got beat in the first round by Bill Bradley and Princeton?

  18. Baccapacker 02/23/2011 at 7:52 PM #

    It always matters to me as my level of hate for the holes is just a notch below my level of love for the Pack, arrogant pricks… Nevertheless I will be sippin on some Red and White cans to get thru the game, it’s like my buddy always says, “You gotta get a lil loose to watch the Pack.”
    GO TO HELL CAROLINA!

  19. 61Packer 02/23/2011 at 9:05 PM #

    golf76, not only do I remember the 12-10 game, but in front of me right now I have the final edition of the Saturday, March 9, 1968 News & Observer, with the writeup of the 12-10 game. From the box I just pulled this paper from are other N&O editions reporting notable other Wolfpack wins: 80-77 over UCLA and 76-64 over Marquette (Mar 24 and 26 of 1974); 54-52 over Houston (April 5, 1983- N&O and Raleigh Times); and 16-6 over Houston (October 8, 1967).

    I also saved many other papers from famous Duke and UNC wins, going back to Duke’s 1978 runnerup finish on to the present. And yes, I saved the paper that had UNC’s 67-59 and 63-50 losses to Marquette and Indiana, respectively. The March 31, 1981 paper was especially interesting because President Reagan was also shot the same day that the sports page headline was “Hoosiers Make Heels See Red”.

    And if there’s a newspaper report anytime soon about a notable Wolfpack basketball accomplishment, I have no doubt that the front page headline of that same paper will be HELL FREEZES OVER AS MIDDLE EAST PEACE CONTINUES!

  20. bTHEredterror 02/23/2011 at 9:06 PM #

    As a youngster in the 70’s, I recall one kid who was Duke fan. Seeing him in his royal Blue sweatahirt was like seeing that grainy video of the last Tasmanian tiger.

    Wow! They do exist!

    Sad how the times have hanged, you can’t throw a rock out your back door and without hitting a Duke fan now. Hell, there is a faction of Duke fans who were State fans once. I bet I’m not the only one who knows a couple.

    Keep the faith, hopefully sooner than later we will regain our rightful relevance.

  21. mak4dpak 02/23/2011 at 9:30 PM #

    Must pull for a pack victory, but still wanna see a new coach on the bench next year, mediority is failure. 5 years of this!

  22. novawolf 02/23/2011 at 9:32 PM #

    The State/Carolina women’s game was televised in Northern Virginia (DC area) Monday night. 3 ACC games are on the tube tonight. State/Carolina (men) is not one of them. I have a hunch it’s not Carolina that’s keeping this game off the air. Ouch!!!!!

  23. blackdom 02/23/2011 at 9:42 PM #

    It is sad we are so bad ,this game will not be seen in NYC area !

  24. runwiththepack 02/23/2011 at 10:05 PM #

    The men appear to have taken some cues from the women, (so far, 19-9ncs lead).

  25. eas 02/23/2011 at 10:24 PM #

    Raycoms picture sucks

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