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No one is going to confuse N.C. Central's trip to Duke tonight with the 1941 season Rose Bowl game that was played in what is now Wallace Wade Stadium.
For that matter, today's game won't carry the importance of most Duke vs. North Carolina meetings, very few of which of have been more than marginally significant the past few years.
But even if the final score turns out to be the one-sided Duke win that's generally predicted, it's a good deal for everyone involved. You don't necessarily have to produce a great game to have a good idea.
The Eagles playing the Blue Devils is just that, a good idea on several fronts:
• It's good for community relations. In the big picture, athletics may not be all that vital, but sporting events can create common ground and mutual respect. There's often a bond forged in competition that can be maintained outside the stadium.
• It's good for business. The money this game generates will be circulated through the local economy.
• More than anything else, it's good for football in an area that needs a booster shot for the sport.
Odds are, Durham never again will be the football hotbed it was decades ago. Like most of the state, basketball interest in Durham long ago overtook and eventually buried football.
But if there's a hope for regeneration, it has to start somewhere, and games between neighboring schools certainly have the potential to help.
When N.C. State made the decision in the 1970s to invite East Carolina over for a series of season-opening games, no one could have possibly envisioned the dramatic impact those games had on sparking football interest among junior and high school athletes.
NCCU and Duke have different football agendas, of course. The Eagles are going through a transition to a higher level of competition, while the Blue Devils are locked in a quest to regain respectability.
But closer to the ground, both are simply looking for a way to expand their fan bases. In that regard, this game should help both camps.
