Maness said that he has been a Carolina fan since birth and that he is an avid Tar Heel supporter — both of his parents graduated from UNC.
“I was pretty upset after we lost the last game,” Maness said about Duke’s 74-73 win over UNC on Feb. 17. “That’s when the idea just popped into my head.”
After changing the name of the Big Sean song to include the name of UNC’s rival, he brainstormed all of the reasons for his ongoing hatred of Duke. He then recorded the song in his closet studio and put the video together a few days later.
He first shared the video with his family and friends. Hannah Peterson and Ajmal Khalid, both UNC graduates and long-time friends of Maness, encouraged him to put the video online.
“I thought the video was extremely funny and well-put together,” Khalid said.
His friends said that they have been following his beats for years.
“This is the best thing that Phil has ever recorded and put together,” Peterson said.
The timing was important for Maness, who also uploaded the video on YouTube. It garnered more than 4,000 views.
“It got me, personally, hype for the game, and everyone I shared it with got so hype as well,” Peterson said. “The song also sticks in your head, and after we won I couldn’t stop singing it.”
Even for Talia Shoval, a sophomore biology major who said she was not invested in the game, the song resonates.
“I thought it was funny even though I’m not really into the rivalry,” she said. “I think that along with the other things posted on Overheard at the time, it helped with the community spirit.”
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Maness said that he wanted to allow the community to unite behind the video — which features a lot of Carolina Blue.
“We also played the song the day of the game to get hyped up leading up to the tip-off,” Khalid said.
“It was a great way for fellow Tar Heels to get excited about the rivalry and become very emotionally invested in the match up.”
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