To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever: A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting, and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the Duke-North Caroli
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Book Overview
An obsessively personal history of the blood feud between North Carolina's and Duke's basketball teams and what that rivalry says about class and culture in the South The basketball rivalry between Duke and North Carolina is the fiercest and longest-running blood feud in college athletics, and perhaps in all of sports. To legions of otherwise reasonable adults, it is a conflict that surpasses athletics; it is rich against poor, locals against outsiders, even good against evil. In North Carolina, where both schools reside, it is a way of aligning oneself with larger philosophic ideals--of choosing teams in life--a tradition of partisanship that reveals the pleasures and even the necessities of hatred. As the season unfolds, Blythe, the former longtime literary editor of Esquire and a lifelong Tarheels fan, will immerse himself in the lives of the two teams, eavesdropping on practice sessions, hanging with players, observing the arcane rituals of fans, and struggling to establish some basic human kinship with Duke's players and proponents. With access to the coaches, the stars, and the bit players, it is both a chronicle of personal obsession and a record of social history.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:006074023X
ISBN13:9780060740238
Release Date:February 2006
Publisher:Harper
Length:368 Pages
Weight:1.32 lbs.
Dimensions:1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
Loving the hate
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
The first chapter of this book is worth the entire price. Laugh out loud funny. And then Will Blythe digs into the paradoxes and subtleties of what hating Duke, er, Dook (yes, I'm a Carolina alum), really means to him, even after he gets to know the personalities he loves to hate. Where does he wind up? Well, I won't give it away but believe me, he doesn't lose any of his passion for the Tar Heels. This is a must read for any Carolina fan. Similarly obsessed Dook fans will appreciate it as well. And curious outsiders who want an insider's view of what it's like to live inside the crazed, obseesive heart of the ACC won't regret a page of this book. Great writing from a fan in search of himself and an understanding of his loyalty to a team, a school, a region and a way of life that his recently deceased father taught him to love.
Funny, informed, introspective, brilliant sports writing
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
Some of the best American nonfiction writing is about sports, and some of the best American writers are sportswriters. Even though he isn't, to the best of my knowledge, a sportswriter (strictly speaking) Will Blythe has written an absolutely brilliant book about one of the most storied and heated rivalries in college basketball: UNC vs. Duke. He has all the qualifications one needs to opine authoritatively: he was born and raised in North Carolina, he went to school at UNC, and like most of us who did (I fit that profile myself), he's a rabid Carolina basketball fan. And while this book will be of obvious and direct interest to anyone who has spent some time on Tobacco Road--it is as authentically North Carolinian as a plate of barbecue and a glass of sweet iced tea--*any* college basketball fan, or any sports fan, really, or even anyone who appreciates the fine art of the wry personal memoir, would find "To Hate Like This..." engaging and delightful reading.
I loved this book!!!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
My husband bought this book for me and now I think I finally understand his illness. In fact, I'm starting to feel a little sick myself. Thank you Will Blythe for spreading the truth about this wonderful disease.
best sports book about fans I've ever read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
This book is not about Duke or North Carolina or even college basketball per se, it's about about real sports fans dealing with the trials and tribulations of obsessive love and hate for "their" teams and against their rivals. The author himself even admits that he too is not immmune from this affliction as he tries to determine what is at the root of this phenomenon. It's a hilarious read, and is without a doubt like nothing I've ever read in the sports genre. This book has history, passion, love/hate, and lots of pychoanalysis. It should be required reading for all sociology majors, not to mention anyone who has ever considered themselves a fan of any sport or anything.
best sports book about fans that I've ever read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
This book is not about Duke or North Carolina or even college basketball per se, it's about about real sports fans dealing with the trials and tribulations of obsessive love and hate for "their" teams and against their rivals. The author himself even admits that he too is not immune from this affliction as he tries to determine what is at the root of this phenomenon. It's a hilarious read, and is without a doubt like nothing I've ever read in the sports genre. This book has history, passion, love/hate, and lots of psychoanalysis. It should be required reading for all sociology majors, not to mention anyone who has ever considered themselves a fan of any sport or anything.
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