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Many of us, including myself, have been wondering for quite some time which of the other “Tobacco Road” or “Big Four” teams Wake Forest fans hate the most.
Does it vary depending on the sport, or is there one common overwhelming answer?
I decided to settle this with a 3 part twitter poll, in which I gave fans the options to vote between North Carolina, NC State, and Duke.
My first poll asked about football only, and the results are shown below:
Part 1 of a poll for @BloggerSoDear In FOOTBALL ONLY which of the other Tobacco Road teams do you hate the most?
— Edward Foster (@Edward_Foster4) September 9, 2017
North Carolina received an overwhelming majority with 57% of the vote.
While this year hasn’t held true to form, the results here make sense, as UNC is generally the most successful of the Big Four schools in football, and the last meeting between the Deacs and the Tar Heels turned kind of ugly amongst players, coaches, and fans alike.
Duke is inconsistent in football, and until recently under David Cutcliffe has historically been one of the worst football teams in the nation.
NC State has had some down years recently, and it’s been a long time since they competed for an ACC championship, at least until this year anyway.
Part 2 asked about basketball only, and the results are shown below:
Part 2 of a poll for @BloggerSoDear in BASKETBALL ONLY which of the other Tobacco Road teams do you hate the most? @DeacFan3
— Edward Foster (@Edward_Foster4) September 10, 2017
As I expected, the overwhelming winner for basketball is the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke is not only the most hated basketball team amongst Wake fans, but also in the entire country. Whether it’s their sustained success under Mike Krzyzewski, players with ridiculous egos like Grayson Allen, the one-and-dones, the Cameron Crazies, or just the dark blue color, people all over share a disdain for Duke basketball.
NC State may have gotten more than 4% of the vote had it not been for two of the worst seasons in program history the last two seasons.
And while people who grew up in the state of North Carolina probably have the most disdain for UNC due to all the bandwagon fans, those who didn’t and/or have been gone for a while tend to hate Duke more, at least according to fellow Blogger So Dear writer Bart Johnston.
Former Blogger So Dear writer Griffin Kurzius wrote an article on the basketball side of things a few years ago, and also came to the conclusion that when it comes to basketball, Duke is clearly the most hated Deacon opponent.
Part 3 of my poll asked in general, which could consist of the fanbase, teams in any sport, the school in general, or anything else. The results are below:
Part 3 of a poll for @BloggerSoDear IN GENERAL/OVERALL which of the other Tobacco Road teams do you hate the most?
— Edward Foster (@Edward_Foster4) September 11, 2017
North Carolina won this one with 57% of the vote, and NC State once again accounted for only 5% of the vote.
While Wake and State are rivals, there just isn't the same level of disdain between them as there is towards the two blue schools. You could walk around on either campus in the shirt of the other team and probably not get too much grief for it.
But wearing a Duke or UNC shirt on either campus is a different story.
My guess is that the results here are for two reasons:
1) The never-ending academic scandal that UNC has yet to receive any sort of punishment for.
2) The amount of obnoxious UNC bandwagon fans when it comes time for basketball, and the fact that many of our readers live in North Carolina and encounter these people on a daily basis.
Regardless of who you dislike most, the results are clear that Duke and North Carolina are both hated by Wake fans.
Which of the Tobacco Road teams do you hate most? Comment below.