Fans Predict Carolina Blue Skies

Excitement about the Duke game will drive UNC students to Franklin Street in droves Thursday night, even though the basketball game will be held eight miles away.

The match against the Blue Devils will be at 9 p.m. Thursday in Cameron Stadium on Duke University's campus.

"I can't wait!" said Chris Jordan, a senior business major and a Carolina Athletic Association Cabinet member.

"It's one of the biggest games of the season, the other being the other Carolina-Duke game. I'll probably go to Franklin Street, hopefully see a few people out."

Two candidates for CAA president, Richard Kwok and Michael Songer, said they also would be found on Franklin Street on Thursday night.

Kwok, a second-year doctoral student in the School of Public Health, said he would be there with his friends simply having fun. "I'm not going to be doing any campaigning, I can tell you that," he said.

Songer, a junior political science major and another candidate for CAA president, said he is going to BW-3 with several of his friends for the game.

But some students said they plan to avoid the mayhem on Franklin Street.

"I'm going to go watch it at a friend's house," said Daniel Dunn, a sophomore communication studies major. But if the Tar Heels win, Dunn said he would consider going to Franklin Street after the game.

Both Kwok and Songer said they were excited about the game because of the history of intense competition between Duke and UNC.

"It's the best college rivalry," Kwok said. "It always feels good to beat Duke."

Kwok said he is looking forward to the game and will be watching it for the eighth year in a row.

Songer said the game will be exciting because the UNC and Duke rivalry is the greatest one in college sports. "With two schools just eight miles apart, there are a lot of personal rivalries," he said. "A lot of students at the two schools know each other."

Senior biology major Peter Adler agreed, saying that he went to Duke on Tuesday to harass some of his friends.

Because Duke is ranked No. 2 in the country and UNC is No. 4, students seem very enthusiastic about the matchup.

"I think we have a good chance to win," said Anna Kroncke, a CAA member and chairwoman of Carolina Fever.

"Even though they're good, we're better," said Clary Hilliard, a freshman journalism major. "We're going to win."

If the Tar Heels do lose the game, most students said they would have a good time anyway.

"Duke's a very good team, so I wouldn't be surprised, but hopefully we'll beat them next time," Adler said.

"We will meet in the ACC tournament -- that is a guarantee," he said.

Kwok said that if the team loses, he will be disappointed, but he'll just wait until the next game in Chapel Hill. He said he was sure the basketball team would defeat Duke in the Smith Center.

Regardless of the outcome, students have pledged to flood Franklin Street on Thursday night.

Kroncke said, "Either way, I'll be up on Franklin Street with everybody else."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.