A very nice article on this from the Charlotte Disturber:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/02/02/4659053/postagame-thoughts-from-dukes.html
The last few paras:
"ESPN seems to be full steam ahead with the Duke-Syracuse rivalry. And there’s no doubt the Orange fans are as well, given all the pregame build-up (the signs at the airport, on buses and on billboards throughout the city).
It already feels like a rivalry to the Syracuse players, too.
“It feels like the rivalry has been going on for 30 years already, so I’m looking forward to all the games to come,” said Fair, who is a senior (so he’s guaranteed just one more game, Feb. 22 in Durham).
Krzyzewski had some insight into the idea of a Duke-Syracuse rivalry as well.
“Rivalry doesn’t have to be hatred – a great rivalry is built on respect,” he said. “A great rivalry is built on respect of excellence of your opponent. It’s why we’ve had a great rivalry with North Carolina, because they have such a high level of excellence in their program. Obviously Syracuse does, and we do. Those are great games.”
Syracuse isn’t going to be the new Maryland. That’s a rivalry built on hatred, and it wasn’t one Duke fans were eager to embrace.
This is different. This is an entire city that backs its basketball team (it’s not a town, like Chapel Hill, and it’s not a city with a testy relationship, to put it one way, with the small private school in its borders, like Durham). The cab drivers talk basketball. The people at the hotels are dressed in Syracuse blue and orange. It’s a special atmosphere, a cold-weather city lacking a professional sports team, so they’ve put all that energy behind the Orange.
One of the most storied college basketball programs wants to make your game, Duke fans, a must-see event, a game that’s going to capture the college basketball world for a day. Why wouldn’t you embrace that?"
Read more here:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/02/02/4659053/postagame-thoughts-from-dukes.html#storylink=cpy