Duke, UNC fans fire up rivalry in Greensboro

Greensboro, N.C. — The boos Duke University players got when they took the court for the opening round of the NCAA tournament in Greensboro on Thursday were not an odd occurrence – according to Mickie Krzyzewski, wife of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“We’re booed everywhere we go. Every arena we go in. It’s almost like our team would find it more of a distraction not to be booed,” Mickie Krzyzewski said.

Watch the full interview with Mickie Krzyzewski

But the boos provided a lesson in sportmanship for the couple's grandchildren – who call Coach K "Poppie" and Mickie Krzyzewski "Minnie" – who were attending the tournament this weekend in Greensboro, Mickie Krzyzewski said.

“When that booing happens, I want you to look down on the court because the Duke players aren’t booing. Poppie isn’t booing. Carolina players aren’t booing. I want you to be like those guys on the court, not like those guys in the stands,” Mickie Krzyzewski tells the children.

Even though the teams aren’t playing each other, University of North Carolina and Duke fans are firing up that rivalry at the Greensboro Coliseum.

“It doesn’t matter who they’re playing. We don’t care. We just don’t like them,” Duke fan Randi Pruitt said.

UNC fan Craig Clodfelter planned to stay after his team’s game Saturday to pull against Duke.

Both games on Saturday were sold out. Each team advanced to the "Sweet 16."

The only way the two teams could meet in the NCAA tournament would be if both made it to the Final Four.

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"When that booing happens, I want you to look down on the court because the Duke players aren’t booing. Poppie isn’t booing. Carolina players aren’t booing. I want you to be like those guys on the court, not like those guys in the stands,” Mickie Krzyzewski tells the children."

So what does she tell the kids when Dook fans boo UNC? Pot, Kettle, Black

Common Sense Man
March 23, 2009 12:12 p.m.

I can't believe wral interviewed Mickie K on "sportsmanship." Talk about a hypocrite. How does she explain to her grandsons the vulgar chants of the Ca-moron Crazies? How does she explain to her grandsons the foul language from her husband directed at refs? How does she explain to her grandsons her cheering for LSU on Saturday, doing the tomahawk chop in the ACC Tournament when Carolina was playing FSU, or cheering for Kansas in the final four in 1991 when Carolina was playing KU? (not that I have any problems with her cheering for Carolina's opponents)

Most importantly, how does she explain to her grandsons her and her daughters' cursing (frequent f-bombs) and flipping the finger at refs and opposing fans? 850thebuzz radio host/ACC Sports Journal publisher Dave Glenn has frequently confirmed that Mickie and her daughters use unreal abusive/vulgar language during games (much worse than even K).

So, please, WRAL do some research before letting her talk about "sportsmanship."

GoHeels1969
March 23, 2009 11:38 a.m.

UNC has had the upper hand this year, but I'm not cheering for them to lose. I want to play them again on April 4th. GO DUKE!