Sunday, June 1, 2003

Tale O' the Tape: ACC vs. AC/DC



By Ryan Ernst
The Cincinnati Enquirer

One is threatening to rock the landscape of college athletics. The other has rocked landscapes from Melbourne to Minneapolis in four different decades. But which has top billing? Let's go to the tape.

FOUNDED

During the early morning of May 8, 1953, at the Sedgefield Inn near Greensboro, N.C., when seven schools withdrew from the Southern Conference.

Edge

AC/DC

In Sydney, Australia, in November 1973, when Angus and Malcolm Young teamed with Bon Scott. The band then played its first gig at Chequers nightclub on New Year's Eve.

STANDS FOR

Atlantic Coast Conference.

Edge

ACC

Rumored to be Anti-Christ/Devil's Children, but the band actually lifted the name off a sewing machine.

MEMBERS

Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia, Wake Forest. It is the conference's fifth combination of teams.

Edge

ACC

Bon Scott, Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, Phil Rudd, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Dave Evans, Larry Van Kriedt, Colin Burgess, Chris Slade, Simon Wright, Mark Evans, George Young. The band has endured 12 lineup changes.

TRADITIONS

Cameron Crazies at Duke, Howard's Rock at Clemson.

Edge

ACC

On-stage wrecking ball, Angus' school-boy uniform.

BIGGEST HITS

Duke and North Carolina basketball, Florida State football.

Edge

ACC

"You Shook Me All Night Long," "Thunderstruck," "Highway to Hell," "T.N.T."

MISSES

Duke football.

Edge

AC/DC

"Fly on the Wall."

SPOKESMAN

Commissioner John Swofford recently concluded a two-year term as coordinator of the BCS for 2000 and '01.

Edge

AC/DC

Guitarist Angus Young recently mooned a crowd of more than 10,000 people in Winnipeg.

LOSSES

South Carolina in 1991, to the SEC.

Edge

AC/DC

Bon Scott in 1980, to alcoholism.

QUOTES

"The thing that made our league is basketball. Football is great, too. But the two-division concept in basketball for our league would be really bad." - Mike Krzyzewski

Edge

AC/DC

"We saw more of (Bon) than his family did, especially us three. It was always me, Bon and Malcolm. We hung out together. Go to clubs together, get thrown out of clubs together." - Angus Young

LOCAL TIES

Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser came from Xavier, as did Virginia coach Pete Gillen. Former Miami mentor Herb Sendek is at North Carolina State.

Edge

AC/DC

The video for "Cover You In Oil" was shot in Cincinnati. You can see then-Riverfront Coliseum in the distance.

Winner: It was close, but the boys from Down Under come out on top 6-4, at least until Coach K starts wearing knickers.

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E-mail rernst@enquirer.com