Sunday, September 02, 2012

Rivals


Here's another symbolic artifact, a token and objet de mémoire. Notice the symbol of a D-Devil (actually a Blue Devil), then revelation of date, place and seating: November 22, 1986, Wade Stadium, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America, West Side, Section 30, Row NN, Seat 16. Opponent: North Carolina (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).

What this entry ticket doesn't reveal is the list price ($15.00), or the intensity of the Duke-UNC rivalry. Not so much in football as in basketball, but real enough across the board.

And then there's the matter of who won the game. Answer: North Carolina. Score:

UNC 42
Duke 35

In the tradition of the ancient Greeks and Romans, spectators array themselves in a hippodrome-like stadium (both Greek words) to watch opposing teams go at each other. Humans love this kind of symbolic conflict as much as they love "real" conflict -- maybe more so. Luckily, with modern football and basketball, casualties are far lighter than in a full out assault with edged weapons. However, the vestiges of real combat in football are clearly in evidence with reinforced padding and helmets. The whole modern sports approach reveals a clever sublimation of primal, atavistic energies. Plus you can bet on the outcome, just as Greeks and Romans did.

"It is what it is." Do you have any favorite rivalries? Or "at the end of the day" . . . "going forward" . . . is it "all good?"

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.       

6 comments:

WAS said...

There is something about the Duke-UNC rivalry that's uniquely intense. First off they're in neighboring towns, like some high school rivalry in overdrive. It's not uncommon to see the light blue flags on one side of the street and the dark blues on the other (a bit like the Civil War at times). Second, the whole mind-set of both colleges could not be more different. It's not the someone artificially objectified hatred of, say, Oklahoma and Nebraska or Ohio State and Michigan, these two colleges literally occupy different planets, the New and Old South respectively if I may be so bold. Third, "southern-fried" rivalries do for some inexplicable reason tend to be a little more intense than in other regions of the country. Maybe the tribalism runs deeper. Anyway, thanks for the memories (I lived in Durham for a spell). I was always a Wolf Pack fan though.

Erik Donald France said...

Hey, William -- thanks for the comment. And for the previous one about "keeping up with the past" -- a potential name for a website or book. I like it.

I'm a UNC graduate but also worked at Duke. One of my sisters is a Wolf Pack grad. I've seen all sides to these equations -- always amusing. Cheers ~!

Erik Donald France said...

p.s. I forget to ask more about your spell in Durham . . .

WAS said...

Doris Duke, there you go again! It seems her name was plastered on everything nailed down in Durham. I was introduced to the area by being told by a textbook salesman named Art to "feel my way" to his house (which I did). So many memories, mostly of restaurants (Bullock's, Cook Out, Sitar, Wellspring, ring any bells?). Here are three recalls that you may share: reading "Walden" at the Eno River, listening for hours on end to everything from Paul McCartney's classical music to the afro-cuban double tuba compositions of Very Very Circus at Millenium Records, and of course the bug room at the Museum of Life and Science.

By the way, my daughter went to NCSSM and is now going to NC State.

Erik Donald France said...

W.A.S. -- nifty-fifty ~!

Bullock's, Acorn, Honey's were all there. Sitar after I left for Philly in the early 90s. Also, the newer Cuban place downtown looks good. Sitar is an appealing name. Museum of Life and Science -- check. NCSSM -- check. Used to be a hospital when we first moved to Durham in the early 70s. Congrats to your daughter re NCSU. The son of a co-worker in Texas is just now an asst. coach for the Wolkpack football team starting this season (last name Walters).

Erik Donald France said...

Wellspring, check. Ninth Street, Broad, . . .