Why do you hate Duke?

[Bellsprout]

I was listening to the Jim Rome Show today and this was one of the bigger topics of the day. Why does the whole country hate Duke?

So, I figured I would put it to OS. Without attacking each other, why do you hate Duke? The constant winning? The perceived arrogance? What is it that makes you hate them?

[PdiddyPop]

I think I have an idea. It's really about television exposure, and the stereotype the media portrayed us for so long. Every game we are on tv people remind everyone that we go to class, we graduate, and we are very good to good most years and win games. I think people could handle the winning at games part for awhile, but we were and still are on tv constantly, and they still use the same old tired script of "smart kids that are great at basketball." People have been beat over the head with that so much we got a backlash from it. Look back at 1999. Nobody really hated Duke that year, because we would just blow teams out ala UNLV from 91. 2001 didn't have that much hate till Billy Packer and the perceived "Duke gets all the calls" got turned into overdrive. People love watching teams that go up and down the court and just make basketball look easy doing it. They get tired of seeing scrappy hard nosed teams play. If you played basketball we all hate scrappy players, because we think they are a pest.

These might be the main reasons, and they may not be for everyone, but I know a good deal of the ones not UNC fans *who hate our guts anyway* to feel this way, and top it off we are a private school in a state that we are not named after. We don't have the press now to help show our side of the story like a public university in Chapel Hill. Heck most of the media in this state are Tarheel journalism grads, and they don't hold back a chance to slam K. I mean they had in one newspaper I believe in Greensboro dare to claim UNC was playing in back to back National Title games when they played the NIT final. Had we won the title and played in the NIT do you think we would have got a headline like that? No and it was a complete joke at how the media is in this state.

TV makes millions off of Duke haters and Duke supporters alike, and it's beneficial for not only them, but for Duke. However, you have seen Duke take a different approach in recent years to market how our program is. Just look at the youtube videos *corny, but shows how regular our guys are*, dukeblueplanet, etc are all trying to change the image somewhat of us. Not to mention K has tried to be more accesible to the media than in years past, but yet still gets his head bit off by some journalist looking for "cred" in the business. We and K himself brought a lot of this on to us ourselves, and we are trying to figure out a way to change that. This team we had this year wasn't hateable, actually they were likeable like the Duke teams in the 80's. Yet just we had a media that tried to play up the hate all things Duke stereotype to cash in on viewers and subscribers to mags, message boards, print, and tv to make a profit.

You can agree or disagree with all, some, or just a few parts of that, but honestly without trying to bring race into it like some journalist's have *that's pathetic btw Jason Whitlock I'm talking to you* is how I see it. Curious to see if others feel even a lil bit of how I posed it.

[z Revis]

I just hate the entire aura surrounding Duke. I simply don't like them and I can't remember the last time I rooted for them. Biggest reasons I hate them: 90% of Duke fans I've met are arrogant and people that I simply don't like to be around. The constant media bias/love fest towards them. They seem to get every call and every break in games.

[ehh]

1. They're responsible for over-flopping and the abundance of offensive fouls in the game today. I didn't really hate Duke that much until Battier arrived, even though Laettner is probably the biggest d-bag in the history of college basketball. It just disgusts me how games are called these days (Zoubek moves his feet and slides in on a majority of the charges his earns, Scheyer is the same way - hell MOST offensive fouls in college basketball are this way) and Duke is the biggest reason why. Defense in basketball is not meant to try to take a charge at all costs but that's how Duke defends - it annoys the **** out of me especially since the refs give them so many absurd charges. Having your 7'1 center trying to take charges instead of blocking shots, there is just something wrong with that. I wouldn't have as big of a problem if the refs actually got the calls right but college basketball has reached a point when the defender is always given the benefit of the doubt and it's damn near criminal at this point. If a defender attempts to take a charge and there's contact, pretty good chance the ref is calling a charge. Watching replays of charge calls, more often then not it is a bad call. Whether it's right or wrong, I mostly blame Dook for it.

2. Coach K's refusal to schedule a real OOC road game. Believe it's been over a decade now, excluding Michigan, since they've played a voluntary road game OOC at an on-campus venue. The regular/OOC season barely means anything in college basketball, please grow a set of nuts, Coach K.

3. For whatever reason, they bring in the most annoying players, who also match their annoying coach. I mean the list goes on for days, guys who are just really unlikable. Guys who are ugly (no homo) and awkward looking. The funny thing is that I wouldn't even put JJ Redick in the Top 10 of the most 'easily hate-able" Dookies.

4. Corey Maggette. How Duke got away with that still baffles me to this day.

5. ESPN feels the need to broadcast every single Duke game, even their cupcake OOC games.

6. Dick Vitale and Mike Patrick (mercifully this combo is no more) schlurping Dook to no end during EVERY broadcast. I remember a game when McRoberts was there, he was playing HORRIBLY (like usual), couldn't score, had a buncha turnovers and was getting cooked on D. But there was one play where he got a long defensive rebound, led the break, made an around the back dribble to avoid a defender and hit a guy spotting up for a three on the break. Patrick goes absolutely nuts, "Wow, is there anything this kid can't do!? Look at how skilled he is!". Yes, Mike. He can do everything except pass, shoot, score, defend, dribble and block shots. Guys just complete ignored the horrible game McRoberts was having to slop McRoberts for one nice play.

7. Coach K looks like a mix of Hitler and the Blue Devil mascot and has the most annoying voice in college basketball.

Probably have more to come...

[Sting]

Because of the preferential treatment and the calls that K gets, and the flopping that Ehh eluded to

That's all I'll say as this thread will probably get ugly by tonight's end.

[PdiddyPop]

Ehh actually Dean Smith brought the flopping to the game. Blame him. K just learned how to do it better.

[ehh]

Quote: Originally Posted by PdiddyPop

Ehh actually Dean Smith brought the flopping to the game. Blame him. K just learned how to do it better.

True, Duke mainstreamed.

[PdiddyPop]

Quote: Originally Posted by ehh

True, Duke mainstreamed.

Haha.