Why Beating NC State Never Gets Old

Lawrence Jordan: Some Tar Heels love to claim the Wolfpack are not rivals just to irritate the irrational bunch down I-40. I am not one of those Tar Heels. NC State is a rival. Beating the Wolfpack certainly means something to me, even if it's just avoiding their mooing after one of their few and far between victories.

It means bragging rights wherever I roam within North Carolina (people outside of North Carolina know little about the Pack). It means knowing the success and basketball tradition that is synonymous with being a Tar Heel is still out of reach in Raleigh.

You see, NC State wants desperately to be relevant, and this need for relevancy drives their irrationality. Sure the Wolfpack can talk about Everett Case and their Southern Conference history. They can talk about David Thompson and 1974. They can talk about a broken-play air-ball that turned into a National Championship in 1983. But what do they have to talk about in the 27 years since 1983?

By the Numbers:

• The overall series record: UNC 141-75
• Series Record in Deam Dome: 18-5
• NCAA Basketball Championships: UNC 5 NCSU 2
• NCAA Basketball Championships since 1983: UNC 3 NCSU 0
• ACC Tournament Championships: UNC 17 NCSU 10
• ACC Tournaments since 1983: UNC 7 NCSU 1
• ACC Reg. Season Champ: UNC 27 NCSU 7
• ACC Reg. Season Champ since 1983: UNC 11 NCSU 2

Why Beating NC State Never Gets Old:

1. UNC is 12-1 over past 13 games souring a lot of Big Red Blazers...
   
2. Reading the ensuing referee/ACC/NCAA conspiracy theories is always entertaining.
   
3. There is a fine line between love and hate in Raleigh: Wins against the Heels: Valvano 6 Sendek 5.
4. At the end of the day they are always happier when UNC loses than when NCSU wins. (Are they even relevant to themselves then...?)
5. The ACC Tournament play-in game is named after them: The Les Robinson Invitational
   
6. They all claim they were accepted at UNC yet chose to go to NCSU. (UNC acceptance rate 34% / NCSU acceptance rate 59%) If they worked a little harder...
   
7. They are so preposterously optimistic before every season and/or game. Reminiscent of Lloyd Christmas: "Mary Swanson: More like one in a million. / Lloyd Christmas: So you're saying there's a chance!"
8. They fight/bicker about the "agricultural" or "technical" school labels, yet they show up to games in overalls, boots, corn straw hats, etc.
9. They are all "engineers"...
10. They don't know how to win gracefully. The term "act like you've been there before" does not apply. It's been too long. They've forgotten.
11. They attend MD/Duke games in place of watching UNC/NCSU games. This is the result of a desperate progression to try and root for a winner...(cough - PT - cough)
    
12. It's the only time you'll see their players. The NBA is a rare option after NCSU...
13. "Wait 'til next year/football/etc..."