It referred to the two schools as "one elite and expensive, the other egalitarian and economical."
There is, of course, more than a little truth in that description of Duke University and North Carolina Central University.
But there is so much more to the schools, their relationship and their contributions to Durham, past and present.
It's fair to say there at times have been chasms between the schools much greater than the mere three miles that separate the hearts of their campuses. But there have been collaborations academically, socially and politically.
And in recent years, especially in the wake of eventually dismissed and discredited charges against Duke lacrosse players, student bodies have worked to forge interaction and understanding.
Now, we're almost on the eve of a classic American way of bringing two groups together - albeit somewhat ironically. We're about to have a football rivalry.
Saturday, Duke's Blue Devils and NCCU's Eagles will face off at Wallace Wade stadium in their first-ever gridiron encounter.
The teams are looking forward to it. "This game means a lot to us," Central quarterback Michael Johnson said Tuesday. "It's a wish come true to play on a big stage like this."
The schools and local officials are revving up the community for the game, including a "Bull City Football Fest" tonight at the Durham Athletic Park.
Saturday's game "is a long time in the making and will be an important and historic moment for Duke, NCCU and the City of Durham," Duke President Richard H. Brodhead said in Chamber of Commerce release promoting tonight's event and the game.
Similarly, NCCU president Charlie Nelms hailed "an exciting opportunity for both institutions and the Durham community.
He added, "It is my hope that this is the beginning of one of the strongest cross-town rivalries in the Southeast."
We share that hope, and welcome the on-the-field contest as another manifestation of erasing barriers that history and culture had for decades erected.
