A very special rivalry

Documentary looks at 2005 Duke-UNC basketball game

The discernible change in the atmosphere that happens every time the Tar Heels and Blue Devils meet on the hardwood is examined in a TV documentary tonight.

The half-hour program "Run Up: Duke Vs. UNC," produced by Raleigh-based Distillery Pictures, premieres at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports (Time Warner Cable channel 50, DirecTV channel 630 and Dish Network channel 420) The show re-airs three nights in December, as a test for a possible 12-episode series.

Tonight's episode presents four storylines connected to a March 6, 2005 matchup between Duke and UNC.

"The buildup of an event is almost an event unto itself," says Distillery producer Matt Hightower. "This formula would work with any sporting event, but the one that came to [our] minds was the UNC-Duke rivalry."

Hightower says that rivalry was chosen not only because it was local, but also because of its deep roots. He compares the Duke-UNC rivalry to the longstanding grudge between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in baseball.

"It was a passion for these guys, specifically," he says. "Duke and UNC is, if not the greatest college rivalry, it's probably the greatest basketball rivalry -- easily argued, for sure."

On the day of the game, cameras chronicle a hectic day for announcer Woody Durham, as well as UNC's associate athletic director for communications Steve Kirschner.

Hightower says he particularly likes the scenes with Kirschner.

"He's a very compelling character, and probably has the most pressure on him that day," Hightower says. "Minutes before tipoff, some of the things that people come up and say to him are hilarious. There's a reporter who asks him to point out -- in the stands -- the mother of one of the players who was injured."

Kirschner says he has mostly great memories of that day -- UNC won 75-73 -- and he's not thrilled that the cameras caught him throwing a chair prior to the game, in frustration over a media seating snafu.

"What I was trying to do was move the chair across the building," he jokes now. "It came across as I kind of tossed it more than I wanted to."

Students who camped out for a good seat were followed by cameramen for 12 hours, from a sleepy wake-up time to the emotionally-charged tip-off inside the Dean Smith Center.

North Carolina student Kellan White, 22, is featured in the show, and he recalls his excitement as a freshman at the time.

"It was incredible -- the energy, the nerves that we had," he says. "We didn't fully understand the Duke-UNC rivalry, so it was fun to see it."

And after winning the game, UNC went on to win the national championship that year.

"That was definitely a serendipitous moment, for sure," Hightower said with a laugh.