Why I hate the tarholes!

Let me first clarify that not everyone who went to UNC or is a UNC fan is a tarhole. Tarholes are a "special" kind of UNC fan that reaffirm my hate for anything Carolina whenever they open their mouths. I dislike Carolina for the obvoius reasons...I am a diehard Duke fan and to be diehard you have to hate all things Carolina. But I am also an avid sports fan and absolutely love college basketball. I can admit when my team didn't deserve to win, I don't jump ship when they are having an off year (or two or three), I can congratulate even my worst enemies after a big game and I watch with unwavering faith whether my team has a chance to get to the Final Four or they are just hoping not to be a "one and done" in the tourney. I remember the days of Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Jason Williams, Shane Battier, DeMarcus Nelson, JJ Redick...and could go on for days. I remember the heart break in 1999 and 2002, disappointment in 2005, and agony in 2007...not to mention 1995 and 1996 when not throwing my tv out the window every game was a challenge.

The point I'm trying to make is that I have never been one to jump on the Duke bandwagon when times are good or off when times are bad. With tarholes, that is a whole different story. Tarholes don't know the history of Carolina basketball. They hardly watch games until it becomes tournament time or they hear Carolina might be good this year. They are all mouth when UNC is good and disappear into the night when UNC is bad. They can't congratulate their opponents on a good win but are first to point out when you lose...even if it's a loss by another team who already beat UNC. They act like they are diehard Carolina fans when in actuality they are just bandwagon fans. I once stopped a tarhole mid-rant when he was giving my hell about Duke not being so good the past couple years (this was probably in 2006). I asked him what about Carolina in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004...they didn't even make the tournament in 2002 and 2003! He quickly retreated and said I knew entirely too much about basketball for him to even talk.

I don't mind the rivalry at all. In fact, I enjoy it...that is what basketball is all about! The fact that I grew up in a state with some of basketballs most elite teams is awesome. I like smack talking back and forth but if you want to claim you are a true Tarheel fan, then know the facts, watch the games and learn the history. Take a loss with dignity and know when to admit you just got beat. Don't revel in other teams' victories when you haven't even proved yourself. Don't call Duke overrated when you have been the bigger disappointment of the season. Learn the sport and pull for the Tarholes even when they only have a shot of making the NIT. Then and only then can you truly call yourself a Carolina fan and have a leg to stand on when you're trying to trash talk!

I have several friends and family members that are true Carolina fans and they can taunt me all day long. They know when to talk and when to shut up...and when they've just been out played. We can discuss Duke/Carolina all day long because they know the game as well as I do. I don't mind telling them when Carolina is looking good and Duke is looking terrible. It is certainly not them that I dislike or them that make me hate UNC. It is only my love for Duke and the tarhole idiots that make me loathe all things Carolina. Here's hoping for some Ram stew on Feb. 11th!! Until then, GO DUKE!!!!!