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posted by thecryptkeeper on March 27, 2008 at 11:01 PM | link to this | reply

Halfelven...
Thanks for the info, as I said, I didn't (until now) know the origin of the name.  One thing for sure, they sure can play basketball!  The Cougs were listless, slow and off the mark, one wonders how they might have faired, say in Spokane?  Maybe a little less lopsided is my guess, you have to give it to the 'heels.

posted by food4thought on March 27, 2008 at 9:58 PM | link to this | reply

Wherefore Tarheels
The nickname has nothing to do with race. It's easy to look up where it came from on Wikipedia but it is simply a nickname for people from a state, like Buckeyes from Ohio or Hoosiers from Indiana, and it's routed in the colonial days when North Carolina forests were the source for many naval supplies, like tar, pitch and turpentine. 

It's also an old nickname for sailors because hundreds of years ago, sailors wore no shoes but simply coated their feet with tar to protect them. They often did the same with their hair, weird as that sounds. Supposedly, hiding tar on the palms of the hands is why the British navy salutes with the back of the hand forward.

posted by Halfelven on March 27, 2008 at 4:10 PM | link to this | reply

I hope the Cougars do well, but the 'Heels' are tough!  sam

posted by sam444 on March 27, 2008 at 11:13 AM | link to this | reply

:)
Why that does seem rather racist...

posted by The_Common_Senseless on March 26, 2008 at 10:51 PM | link to this | reply