They racist

11/19/2015 11:12:39 PM

at least they're good at making up stories to cover for themselves.

Quote :

" What’s a Tar Heel? Our nickname, which also applies to North Carolina citizens, has at least two possible origins. One story hails back to the Revolutionary War and the troops of British General Cornwallis. After fording a river in eastern North Carolina, the British troops discovered their feet covered with tar, a product of North Carolina’s abundant pine trees and one of the state’s most important exports at the time. Some say the clever North Carolinians dumped it in the river to slow down the invading army. The British were said to have observed that if you waded in North Carolina rivers, you would get tar on your heels. Another story comes from the Civil War. A group of North Carolina soldiers scolded their comrades for leaving the battlefield when things got tough. The soldiers threatened to stick tar on the heels of the retreating soldiers to help them stay in the battle. General Robert E. Lee is said to have commented “God bless the Tar Heel boys!” Whatever the reason for the moniker, our students and sports teams have long worn it with pride. "

http://www.unc.edu/about/history-and-traditions/whats-a-tar-heel/

the first story has no basis in history, as no literature makes reference to the term tar-heel prior to the civil war. The second story conflicts with stories from that era depicting the old north state as having a high number of deserters and accounts of NC soldiers needing to have their feet covered in tar to make them stick around.

11/20/2015 12:22:01 PM

what is the real history? i learned that it was an insult about the people who worked in the tar and turpentine industry but i don't know if thats true and don't care enough to filter through google answers

11/20/2015 12:42:49 PM

^that's pretty much the history of it. NC was known for making tar, pitch, and turpentine, and Confederate soldiers from other states made fun of troops from NC by calling them that.

I'd like to know the history behind their basketball team being called the "White Phantoms" in the 30s and 40s.

11/20/2015 1:37:44 PM

I thought it was White Knights. Was it Phantoms? I know NCSU was the Red Terrors.

11/20/2015 1:51:42 PM

Quote :

"It has been said that the trend to call all athletic teams by the same name began at N.C. State where it was reported that Everette Case despised State's nick name "Red Terrors." They adopted Wolfpack for all athletic teams and simultaneously or near the same time, UNC adopted Tar Heels for all sports. Carolina had Blue Dolphins for the swimming team and Duke's swimming team used the nickname "Blue Imps," if I remember correctly. I don't believe Duke and Wake Forest have ever used nicknames for football and basketball other than Blue Devils and Demon Deacons. My favorite all time nickname was the one used by the UNC freshmen football team, who were known as the "Tar Babies.""

11/20/2015 2:53:24 PM

Someone stepped in dogshit and it reminded them of walking around UNC...unpleasant and smelly.

11/20/2015 3:43:23 PM