First of all, you have to understand this about me. I moved to North

Carolina when I was 13. The years between 12 and 18 are what I call "the

formative years." These are the ages when you first learn about pop

culture, and begin to form opinions on things. So it was at this time that

I learned about the good and evil in sports programs. Duke and Notre Dame

were teams I considered "good" because they both have outstanding

reputations. On the other hand, North Carolina was a team I considered

"evil" because of the cockiness of their fans.

I can remember my coach explaining to me how people in North Carolina call

UNC-Chapel Hill "Carolina."

"What about a team like South Carolina" I asked. My coach replied "There is

only one 'Carolina'."

From that point on, I have hated UNC. The way that people in North

Carolina talk about the Tarheel basketball team, you would think that Dean

Smith was a God, and that he won 35 national championships in his 35 years

of coaching. In fact, Dean only won 2 national championships as a coach,

and on one of those championships he needed the help of a certain #23 that

is the greatest basketball player ever. I believe UCLA would have something

to say about being the greatest college basketball program of all time (10

championships in 12 years). Ok, so you get my point, I hate the North

Carolina Tarheels.

Last summer the plot thickened when UNC decided to hire away Matt Doherty

from Notre Dame. Doherty, in case you have forgotten, was sort of like a

basketball version of Lou. He was flamboyant and emotional, and best of all

he really wanted to be here. So when "Carolina" decided to steal him away,

I was very emotionally upset. How dare the cockiest college ever steal away

OUR coach? It just wasn't fair.

And that is where the story turns completely on its head. This past summer

I vowed to hate Carolina even more than I usually do. I promised to root

for everyone (including the evil Michigan and Ohio State programs) against

the Tarheels. I hoped Doherty would fall flat on his face.

Then last Thursday night I watched the UNC-Duke game on ESPN. The game was

at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Duke's campus. I usually root for the Dookies,

and this game was no exception. Or so I thought. As I watched the game, the

more I began to root for Doherty. It was amazing for me to see a team walk

into Cameron and not give up. I have been to a game at Duke, and trust me

it is a really hard place to play. The students there are very

intimidating. Doherty walked the sidelines as enthusiastic and confident as

ever. That is when I realized something. Doherty is the same coach he was

here. The only reason he left was because UNC was his alma mater. I

realized that I was a Doherty, and thus North Carolina fan. That is

tremendous, earth shattering event when all I have known for the past eight

years is that UNC is evil. I will never be a UNC fan, but from witnessing

what Doherty did for Notre Dame basketball last year, that makes me respect

him and his program at UNC.

• The bane of my existance