We asked Tar Heels if they think NC State is our rival

UNC and NC State faced off on the hardwood for the 229th time on Saturday, with the Tar Heels defeating the Wolfpack 67-55. Following the game, the question still remained: is NC State really our rival?

If you ask fans of the Wolfpack, of course we’re rivals. But most Tar Heels beg to differ.

So before Saturday’s game, we asked a few students what they thought about our supposed rivalry with the “red team.”

Aurelie, senior, Global Studies

“So, I think Duke is our rival and State is like our underdog rival.”

Jarvis, senior, Political Science and History

“I mean, we say they’re not, but yeah they are. I got Phase One tickets. I’m getting there at 9am. I wouldn’t do that if we were playing Louisville or Clemson or something. We’re playing State. It’s a big game.”

Ryan, junior, Management and Society

“It’s just like ‘Malcolm in the Middle.’ The two older brothers, Reese and Malcolm, are always fighting and doing something. Then you have their little brother, Dewey, who always wants to get in on something but can’t. That’s State.”

Connor, senior, Information Science

“They’re not our main rival. I would say the rival is Duke. At NC State games, people chant ‘not our rivals’ because they think they’re our rivals, but we don’t even care.”

Just to make the debate a little more interesting, we asked a transfer student from NC State.

Shawn, sophomore, Biology

“From an NC State perspective, that’s all they talk about. They talk shit about Chapel Hill. Coming here now, I’ve come to the realization that we are not the rivals of NC State, but they would like to think so.”

It’s obvious NC State is still a potential rival, but the #1 spot belongs to the school down the road…at least in the eyes of a Tar Heel.