By ALFRED HAMILTON, Jr.
“Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay; My, oh my, what a wonderful day”
Out of nowhere the song’s lyrics came into my head, not long after Caleb Love launched his dagger, floating it maybe three inches above the desperate reach of Duke 7-footer Mark Williams, barely nicking the heel of the rim and diving straight down to the Superdome floor.
I have since been told the play was somehow planned, involving a pick to free Love for the extra second he needed to shoot. Maybe so.
I prefer to think he did it on his own, maybe thinking, “I’m taking care of this game right now.” Up he went, ball gone in a high trajectory and BOOM, the Blue Devils are down four, 20 seconds before Duke’s Disaster, Part Two was done.
In the wake of Duke’s double downfall, I wondered how zip-a-dee-doo dah got into my head. It turns out that it hasn’t been played publicly since 2001, when it was imprisoned in a Disney vault, reportedly for racial insensitivity. That’s a complete Disney lie, as the full lyrics clearly show.
The song is old, released in 1946, about the time a lot of the people reading this piece were born. That got me thinking about all the old folks who must be enjoying Duke’s discomfort as much as I am.
I thought first of Joe Quigg, Lennie Rosenbluth and Tommy Kearns, the surviving starters of the 1957, 32-0 team. I imagined them, feet up and beverage in hand, in complete delight.
I remembered all the Carolina fans, lots of them plenty old by now, who traveled to New Orleans in 1982 and watched the monkey knocked off Coach Smith’s back.
Maybe an hour after Georgetown went down, hundreds of Heels fans were packed into the Hotel Monteleone lobby when 19-year-old Mike Jordan emerged from the elevator. He was greeted with a series of thunderous Carolina cheers.
Then, the future global star and billionaire asked someone, “Sir, do you think I could go and find a cheeseburger now?”
In the wake of Duke’s Disaster Part Two, I pondered reasons why the Durham team has been so damned annoying for the last 50 years or so. Every Carolina fan has his or her own list, of course. My top four are:
- Art Heyman. Need I say more?
- Coach Krzyzewski’s attempt to dump 15 losses on interim coach Pete Gaudet in 1995, including two losses to Carolina when Krzyzewski had back problems. Believe it or not, as recently as two weeks ago, he was on national radio implying that his Duke teams were 50-48 against Carolina. Bad math, Coach.
- The assault on Tyler Hansbrough in 2007, when Hansbrough’s nose was all but caved in at the Smith Center by Gerald Henderson for no apparent reason. Even ESPN, Krzyzewski’s personal PR firm of late, called the bloodletting an assault and battery.
- J.J. Redick’s recent comment to the media that Carolina fans suffer from an “inferiority complex” was ironic in the extreme. In fact, the Duke people generally suffer from a superiority complex. I am avoiding the use of the word “arrogance,” in the hope that my few Duke friends will still talk to me.
The Carolina season was confusing, to say the least. The back-to-back losses to Miami and Wake Forest was probably the darkest hour, although later losing to Pittsburgh in Chapel Hill was similar to a stick in the eye. But still we hoped…
And then came the trip to Durham. Somehow, the vision Coach Davis had for this team flashed into reality like a lightning strike. And it struck Duke.
UNC head coach Hubert Davis reacts to a play as the Tar Heels faced the Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four on April 2, 2022. (Photo via Todd Melet.)
Many of us had clung to one pre-game hope. If the Heels could keep it close for 35 minutes or so, the specter of Duke’s Disaster Part One could begin terrifying the Cameron nut cases. And maybe Duke players.
There is no question that the huge pressure of Krzyzewski’s impending retirement/coronation weighed heavily on this team. The ceremonial hoo-ha of the prior week bordered on silly. I choked on the letter K sewn into the pullovers given to former players.
One could argue with this, but I don’t believe Duke played to its potential in any game during and after Duke’s Disaster Part One, with the possible exception of Arkansas. Few athletes are overly excited about being labeled “unacceptable” in front of a few million people.
We do know this: Duke made 18 of 28 free throws in the two losses to Carolina and 12 of 41 three-point shots. Defensively, the Devils somehow managed to give up 45 points over the last 12 minutes of Duke’s Disaster Part One. Decide what you want.
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So what the hell, the Heels lost to Kansas, certainly the most complete team and a No. 1 seed. The game may well have turned on warrior Armando Bacot’s second turned ankle, a limping Love, a semi-concussion for Civil War General Brady Manek and 10 minutes on the bench in foul trouble for Leaky Black, who certainly could have kept the Jayhawks from scoring four points!
Instead of regret, try instead to think well of Kansas University, whose defeat by the Heels 65 years ago changed UNC basketball forever.
After all, James Naismith is buried not far from the KU campus. Kansas gave us Coach Smith, won a national title under Coach Larry Brown and trained Coach Roy Williams for Hall of Fame greatness. Lawrence has nice people and a Carolina blue streak.
Now that Duke’s Disaster Part One and Two are part of history, free from attempted adjustment, a few things have changed.
- First, Manek has apologized to Oklahoma and proclaimed himself a lifelong Tar Heel. If there’s any justice, he will be the upcoming commencement speaker.
- All joking aside, everyone other than friends and family should stop calling the UNC coach “Hubert.” Instead, refer to him as “Coach” or “Coach Davis.” I know I’m right about this, so just go along with it.
- Any sniping at Coach Davis, for any reason, is hereby deemed a slander. The day he was named UNC’s coach, my son said “Dad, no matter what anyone says, he is the perfect choice. Even Jay Bilas calls him a friend and a class act.”
- Perhaps best of all, at least as long as I live, no loss to Duke will ever feel as bad as before.
(P.S. Google defines zip-a-dee-doo-dah as “an exclamation of happiness.”)
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Alfred Hamilton, Jr. is veteran sportswriter who attended UNC’s 1957 national championship win over Kansas when he was 13. A former sports editor and managing editor of old Greensboro Record, Hamilton has also written for GoHeels.com and InsideCarolina.
Featured photo via Todd Melet.
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Beautifully written and reconnections with the past! Thank you
Minor correction: Zipedy do dah was in the disastrously racist “Song of the South” by Disney. Although innocent, it was swept up with the other tunes from that movie.