For those hermits out there unaware of how rivalries work, Duke vs. North Carolina is possibly the biggest one of them all, representing two schools that hate each other and separated by ten miles. The two mortal enemies show just as much respect as hatred though, as shown by the way Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski treat each other.
But UNC's leading scorer, senior Brice Johnson, and freshman Faith Suggs, a guard on the Duke women's basketball team, seem to have to taken things to a new level.
As discussed in an ESPN article, the two student-athletes are openly dating. Johnson's Instagram account details a great deal of their affection for one another:
The amount of support they show for each other is remarkable (or unremarkable, depending on how you interpret relationships). According to that ESPN article, Johnson once sat behind Duke's bench during Suggs' games wearing UNC practice clothes, but refuses to wear Blue Devil gear at least until after he graduates. It looks like Suggs has no problem wearing the uniform of the enemy either, as she did to the UNC-Maryland game in December:
Apparently Suggs was also kind enough to vote for Johnson, the Tar Heels' leading scorer this season, for the Wooden Award, given to the best player in the country.
I just voted for Brice Johnson for the @Wendys #WoodenAward. Cast your vote here: https://t.co/76GI5f48p4 https://t.co/IgNZ9JnhvV
— Faith Suggs (@Fsuggs23) February 11, 2016
In another heart-wrenching nugget, after meeting through mutual friends, the two apparently bonded over the unlikely fact that each lost their mother to cancer when they were both 14 years old, on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 respectively.
Ultimately, it's just nice to see love transcend all boundaries on a day of hatred.