A Look HBO's Latest Rivalry Documentary

Friday, February 20, 2009


HBO Sports has been putting together a nice collection of rivalry documentaries, with the last being a look at Ohio State and Michigan, and their latest should be just as interesting. The network will be delving into the dynamic that is Duke-UNC, titled "Battle for Tobacco Road", and they've got a pretty impressive lineup of cameos. Via HBO PR....

Separated by fewer than ten miles, the two schools have been going at it on the hardwood since 1920. But over the past 25 years, their heated competition has steadily grown in intensity, with Duke and North Carolina gearing up each season to reach a common goal: to beat their archrival twice in the regular season, regardless of rankings or won-loss records. These two Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouses frequently dominate the conference standings, and routinely compete for the top spot in the national polls. Remarkably, since the NCAA Tournament expanded to its current configuration in 1985, these two schools alone have combined for more national titles (five) and made more Final Four appearances (18), than any other entire conference.

The high-profile list of interviewees from the Blue Devils and Tar Heels programs weighing in on the intense rivalry in BATTLE FOR TOBACCO ROAD: DUKE VS. CAROLINA includes: Hall of Fame coaches Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski; players Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Charlie Scott, Larry Brown, Art Heyman, Kenny Smith, Phil Ford, Eric Montross, Mitch Kupchak, Chris Collins, Grant Hill, Alaa Abdlenaby, Jay Bilas, Mike Gminski, Johnny Dawkins, Brian Davis, J.J. Redick, Jeff Capel and Christian Laettner; commentators Jim Lampley and Seth Davis; former Duke athletic director Tom Butters; and current Tar Heels coach Roy Williams.
Sounds pretty interesting, and if it's anywhere near as good as the UM-OSU one, it will certainly be a hit.

Posted by Awful Announcing at 2:10 PM

3 Comments:

Saw a screening of this in Durham, NC about two weeks ago before the first Duke-UNC matchup and it's definitely a quality piece of work. Seems like it's a bit UNC-favorable, but being a Carolina fan I chalk that up to being unable to escape the inherent douchiness of Duke. They did a nice job on both sides capturing the animosity that will never die, having players and coaches still taking shots at each other on camera.

Zeke Smith said...
Feb 20, 2009, 3:44:00 PM  

This would be strictly an amateur production had they not included the great Alaa Abdelnaby.

GMoney said...
Feb 20, 2009, 4:11:00 PM  

Does Liev Schreiber do the narration? He may be the best voice-over actor ever.

yournamehere said...
Feb 21, 2009, 12:20:00 AM  

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