Well, At Least One Of My Teams Promises To Be Great This Season



Long-time readers of this blog know that I am a North Carolina homer despite never attending a single class at the Chapel Hill campus.  It was my love of Michael Jordan that turned into my love for everything Tar Heels.  I could have gone to school there and attended one of the top journalism schools in the country, but decided to keep it close to home.

During my freshman year at Carbondale, North Carolina beat Illinois to win the national championship.  Despite being on the campus of SIU (drop the "C" please) there were plenty of Illini fans.  Most of them wanted to see long-time Saluki coach Bruce Weber win the big one with the Orange Crush.  Then there was lil' ol' me.  The Saluki homer miffed that both Bruce Weber and Matt Painter left.  (And the fact that I apparently wasn't good enough for U of I or its school of journalism.)  The long-time Carolina fan in me wanted to see the Illini fall apart against my beloved Heels.

On that day, Talent triumphed over Team.  In the coming years my roommate would be a Duke fan -- which set up some pretty heated college hoops arguments.  Also, a close friend and former co-worker (and, at times, TBDS reader) was also Duke fan, and that set off some pretty intense moments in the office.  However, that was offset because one of my mentors was a big-time North Carolina fan too.

For two years, my roommate was a Michigan State fan.  And everyone knows how the last two games between Michigan State and North Carolina have ended.

So, let the homerism begin as THE University of North Carolina will start the season ranked No. 4 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll.  Kansas is No. 1 with Michigan State and Texas following the Jayhawks.  Kentucky, Villanova, Purdue, Puke Duke, West Virginia and Butler (not the butler ... but Butler) round out the Top 10.

The Alma Mater received three votes and The Arch Nemesis of the Alma Mater received seven votes.  Northern Iowa, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference champions, received one flippin' vote.

No love for Frostbite Falls.

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