To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever

A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting, and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the Duke-North Carolina Basketball Rivalry

By: Will Blythe

Narrated by: Matt Martucci

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.

©2009 William Blythe (P)2022 William Blythe

Great Narration…as always…

Martucci is a wonderful storyteller. Enjoyed his narration a great deal.
Always a good listen.

Great book, even better narration

I had read this book about a decade ago and liked it but it's so much better as an audiobook. This narrator really seemed to understand the source material at a deep level and bring the author's words to life. I highly recommend for any sports fans