Usually, it’s safe to wait until Monday to write about a Thursday game, and
know that fan interest will still be there, but this week is different. With
Virginia’s victory over FSU Saturday night setting up a showdown in
Charlottesville for the Coastal crown, most Hokie fans have left the UNC game
behind mentally and emotionally, and are ready to knock heads with the
Cavaliers. Frankly, so am I, but this Monday Thoughts is about UNC, so let’s go
through it.

When it comes to UNC football, my position is very simple: I have a
tremendous amount of respect for the talent they put on the field … but I
despise the program. I dislike intensely the fact that they built their team by
cheating, by hiring Butch Davis and letting him hire agent-runner John Blake.
The Tar Heels cut corners and cheated, and they took a chunk out of the Hokies
while doing it, on the recruiting trail and (in 2009) on the field. I’ve watched
Frank Beamer build his program slowly over the last 25 years, doing things the
right way, and I despise any school that takes the easy way out and takes
shortcuts like UNC did.

There, I feel better. While my hatred of the UNC program runs deep, I do
admit that it adds a lot of spice to the annual matchups. It’s good to have an
enemy you despise … sort of. It also creates a lot of uncomfortable moments.

As Chris Coleman wrote in his column Friday, UNC is less than the sum of
their parts. They’re a scary looking bunch, in spite of the baby blue unis.
They’re big, fast, and physical, and many of them are bound for the NFL.

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