In his post yesterday, Nate touched upon the fact that UNC looks at NC State like an older brother looking at a little brother. NC State is jealous of their older brother and wants to beat him in every competition possible. At the moment, NC State only beats UNC at graduating farmers and engineers, but not much else. Nate also wrote briefly of how the relationship between Duke and Maryland is similar to the relationship between UNC and NC State. I wouldn’t state that Maryland envies Duke in everything they do (even though they should), but Maryland really, really wants to beat Duke every time they play basketball. Maryland fans go absolutely insane every time they play Duke. While Duke fans assume an aloofness while dismissing the Terrapins by yelling things at them like “Not our Rivals.”
The past 11 years have provided for some amazing contests between the two schools and also some extremely low points from Maryland fans. We’ve been entertained by the likeness of Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter, Chris Wilcox, Greivis Vasquez and many others. Steve Blake haunts my dreams like no other player because he had the ability to eternally frustrate Jason Williams. Steve Blake to Jason Williams is like Tyronn Lue to Allen Iverson. A vastly inferior player getting under the skin of a supremely skilled player and just interrupting him constantly. Somehow, someway, the fellow who penned this amazing piece about a “restaurant that brings people happiness” was able to disrupt one of the best players I’ve ever seen. Continue reading