Things I believe: 1. In the movies, if a bad guy falls off a tall building, he will always land on a car. 2. Bigfoot is real (and she’s stacked). 3. College basketball fans will always hate Duke. Yep, here we are on the doorstep of the Sweet Sixteen, and the blue-wigged ones are once again involved (Duke and Arizona tip off in just a few hours), as they have been 19 times since 1981. But despite the Blue Devils’ sweet smell of success and boyish good looks, I sincerely believe that, if put to a vote, a majority of Americans would choose an air strike on Krzyzewskiville over one on Tripoli.
Simply put, Duke is Camp Mohawk, and the rest of the world is Camp Northstar.
But why, America? What has this sleepy Methodist institution from a rural tobacco hamlet done to incur your wrath? Today we get to the bottom of this.
Recently I emailed a sportswriter friend and told him that I was thinking of writing a column on why people hate Duke. What is the main gripe against the Blue Devils? His reply was balanced and pragmatic:
False hustle. Guys slapping their hands on the floor who can’t play d, they brag about high admissions but they let guys in who barely qualify.
Then, a couple of minutes later:
And a lot of what Jalen Rose said was true.
So that brings us to our list of charges. Let’s begin.
- The charge: Elitism.
- The counter-charge: Duke haters are reverse racists.
You’re all familiar of course with The Great Quote Wars of 2011, in which members of Michigan’s Fab Five recalled thinking of Duke players as “Uncles Toms,” “bi****s” and “elitists.” Although couching their criticism of Grant Hill and Christian Laettner in the past tense during filming of their ESPN documentary, it was pretty clear that Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson also think that way now. The words just danced off their tongues too trippingly to qualify as dusty relics.
The main contention by Rose & Co. is that Duke doesn’t recruit from the inner city, and specifically not in urban Detroit. Of course the irony there is that, thanks to Chris Webber and the recruiting scandal of the 1990s, Michigan now doesn’t recruit there either. But anyway, let’s just cut to Rose’s real point. Duke is too white.
Of all the teams you’re used to seeing in the Final Four in recent years, can you think of one that consistently starts more Caucasian players than Duke? This rubs a lot of people the wrong way, as terrible as that sounds. When Duke played Butler in last year’s NCAA title game, five white players were on the court at tipoff — the most since 1998, when six white players started in the Utah-Kentucky final, according to Rivals.com. This year, half of Duke’s 12-man roster is white, including four of its top eight players. Stop whining about it. It shouldn’t matter. I, for one, would like to see five Native Americans start a Final Four game. That would be cool.
- The charge: Refs give Duke special favors.
- The counter-charge: What you call “favoritism,” Krzyzewski calls “fundamentals.”
Charles Barkley was ranting the other day on the radio about how AAU programs are killing college basketball. Barkley: “These kids aren’t getting good coaching. They’re playing too many games and not working on their game enough. And what happens with the AAU and all the extracurricular stuff, the college coaches have no control over these kids. They have to kiss their butts to come to their school; they’re afraid to coach them because if you criticize them, they don’t consider that coaching, they consider it criticism. There’s very few coaches that are actually coaching these kids. They let them do what they want to because they’re happy to get them because of the AAU circuit. It’s bad basketball.”
And he’s right. Duke is one of the few programs remaining where the coach is still in charge. Krzyzewski is a throwback to a time when coaches still taught footwork and spacing and how to come off a screen. And Duke plays defense with a ferocious man-to-man intensity seen in few other programs. A lot of times, what TV viewers perceive to be the refs favoring Duke, is actually the refs seeing the little things on the floor that get you calls. You call it a flop? Krzyzewski calls it letting the ref know that an offensive player is trying to muscle you off of your spot. You get calls by doing the little things.
Krzyzewski played and coached under Bobby Knight, after all … and pulled a neat trick. He took away the lion’s share of Knight’s technical acumen, and the lamb’s portion of his clinical misanthrope. So in essence, what was created was a sort of supercoach — albeit, one who kind of resembles a rodent. But if Walt Disney has taught us anything, it’s that rodents can be endearing. And profitable.
- The charge: Duke’s fans are arrogant, largely out of control, and incredible dorks.
- The counter-charge: Guilty, with an explanation.
The Cameron Crazies are known throughout the land as the rowdiest, most annoying college basketball fans anywhere. The fact that they would set up a tent city, often in the snow, and camp there before games is a testimony to their unique psychoses.
A while back I wrote a post with this headline: Doofus in blue wig not sure why people hate Duke. Here is that doofus, to the left. Without even knowing what he’s saying, don’t you just want to punch him? This guy was born to be locked in a cafeteria dumpster. But here’s the thing: When I was in college, I couldn’t walk 20 yards without seeing someone I’d like to tie into a sack and toss in the creek. It’s college. Annoying pr***s are everywhere, on every campus.
Besides, the Cameron Crazies usually confine their mayhem to the game itself — the aftermath of Duke championships are comparatively mild. Consider this report from the University of Maryland: April 4, 2006: Students light street fires, throw bottles, and try to tip over a bus — after a win by their WOMEN’S basketball team.
A couple of kids I used to coach in basketball are now in college — Santa Clara University and UC Davis — and I asked them recently why they think everyone hates Duke. “It’s the jealousy factor,” said one. “Everyone hates a consistent winner.” Pressed further, they admitted they didn’t like Duke themselves.
My theory can be boiled down to an even simpler premise. Duke is Camp Mohawk, and the rest of the world is Camp Northstar. Face it, as a wise camp counselor once said, Camp Mohawk’s got the best equipment that money can buy. Hell, every team they’re sending over here has their own personal masseuse. Not masseur. Masseuse.
But it just doesn’t matter. Because every good story — and the NCAA Tournament is one of the best stories ever — needs a strong antagonist. And Duke fills that role very well.
***
Rick’s Cafe Americain appears each Thursday. Contact: Rickchand@gmail.com.
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- 1historian - Mar 24, 2011 at 6:25 PM
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Duke recruits ONLY those student/athletes who can qualify academically as well as athletically – they are NOT funneled into jock courses when they get there. I doubt if any of the current Ohio State roster could make it at Duke, nor any of the players at Kentucky. If that is elitism, if that is racism, so be it. BTW – They win year after year after year. Are their celebrations annoying? Of course they are. That’s part of the fun of being one of their fans, which I am not.
A few years ago Greg Oden who played for Ohio State one year as a freshman took Sociology and The History of Rock and Roll in his second semester.
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- rescueluke - Mar 25, 2011 at 12:35 PM
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Right…umm, watch ESPNU’s Total Access and see for yourself which diffcult classes the Dookies sign up for: Acting 101 (Kyrie, Mason Plumnelly to name two..) Grueling, for sure.
People hate Duke- not because they win, but because they are treated like royalty and the truth never gets out. Duke is academically tough- but not for jocks. Duke sports programs have integrity…?? nope- think LaCrosse, and basketball with their vulgar fans and f-bomb dropping coaches and players. Remeber Speedo guy? That’s integrity. Coack K urges bad behavior in his fans. He looks the other way when they are out of line. Let’s see: raz a player who’s parents died in a homicide-suicide: I believe the chant from the “spirited” Duke fans was something like, “you don’t have any paaaarents! You don’t have any paarenst!” Pretty classy, huh!. yeah- that’s why we love Duke. When your starter intentionally breaks a guys nose because Duke is losing- Coach K can’t even admonish the act. You didn’t see Roy W. passing out, claiming a back injury, and handing his team over to an assistant last year when his team was struggling. He owned every miserable second of that season. That’s what “class” is.
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- jgs18 - Mar 26, 2011 at 1:24 AM
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Actually, rescueluke, Roy Williams repeatedly threw his team under the bus during last season’s fiasco. And would you call comparing your team’s record to the earthquake in Haiti “class”?
http://deadspin.com/#!5468840/roy-williams-is-a-clueless-dick
That might help clear things up. (sorry for the conflicting blog post, Rick.)
And check the ACC All-Academic team for this year. 3 Duke players, 1 Tar Heel. And UNC doesn’t even pretend that it has academic standards for its athletes. Marvin Austin, anyone?
http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030911aaa.html
Try to focus before talking about the greatest rivalry in sports.
-Jake S., Duke T’12
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- sbzilla - Mar 28, 2011 at 10:11 AM
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I taught at Duke for 10 years and one of my favorite criticisms I ever received was that my class was harder than Intro Organic Chemistry–and I taught Acting 101. You have no idea how difficult these kind of classes can be. I had several BBall players in my classes while there. were they geniuses at the work? No, but neither were they idiots. I found them incredibly well-behaved, good listeners and their efforts were right in line with what I asked of all the students. ALL sports programs share the integrity issues you mention and I condone none of them, including Duke’s.
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- jgs18 - Mar 28, 2011 at 10:30 AM
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Professor, well done. I’m interested in that class now…as an English major I don’t need any more ALP’s but that sounds fantastic. I’ve had some great friends who are BME and stuff take it for fun but end up really into the work.
RescueLuke: you’re remembering incorrectly. I imagine by this time the booze has gotten to your memory, so I’ll fill you in.
http://www.pistonsforum.com/detroit-pistons-general-discussion/8204-juan-dixon-life-thread.html
VIRGINIA’s fans shouted “crack head parents” at Dixon. Pete Gillen, the coach at Virginia at the time, went on the mic at halftime and told them to stop. They stopped. And that was VIRGINIA. You want to know what Maryland fans do to Duke players?
http://www.outsports.com/cbb/20052006/0324jjredicktaunts.htm
They call his little siblings homophobic slurs during games. And people thought he was a bad kid…haha. When the entire country hates you because you’re better than they are, you become a little surly. “Surly.” It means bristly and irritable. You have a computer, so google the words in my posts that you don’t know.
As the general responses to this latest moronic (adjectival version of the word “moron”) post has expressed, no one here likes you. Some people don’t have the intelligence to own a computer with a connection to the internet. But that’s our world. Do us a favor: donate your laptop to someone in Japan who needs it to contact his family so he can get back to work.
Old Roy has passed out a number of times on the court. ARE YOU KIDDING? Are you even a UNC fan? He is famous for having vertigo.
GTHC. Enjoy your idiotic (adj. form of idiot) life. You can resent Duke grads and athletes for being pompous all you want. But in this case, I’m actually confident that I’m smarter and better than you. So is everyone who clicked thumbs down, because you sir just got served.
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- imwhitewolf - Mar 24, 2011 at 7:41 PM
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Rick,
It’s nice to see you dropped the reference to the Coach’s daughters. Was that really needed in the first place. I doubt seriously if your friend would appreciate having someone describe his wife, girlfriend, daughters that way.
BTW—I’m a rabid Duke lover, have been for 50 years. Love the school, the team, and have the utmost respect and liking for Coach K (I write him once or twice a year and he always replies). He and his coaching staff have down an awesome job and they’ve done it without the NCAA rules violations. It’s sad in America today that we love to tear down the successful. I wonder why is that? I think you hit it on the head—jealousy. For some reason people seem to think if a person (program) is successful it had to be gained by crooked means. It’s just not fair to them that someone else made it but they didn’t. Most Duke haters would love to be that successful in their lives. Unfortunately most of them aren’t willing to put forth the effort to accomplish it.
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- Rick Chandler - Mar 24, 2011 at 7:45 PM
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>>It’s nice to see you dropped the reference to the Coach’s daughters. Was that really needed in the first place.<<
No.
Thanks for the great letter. Good luck tonight! — rick
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- dukesucks1 - Mar 24, 2011 at 8:47 PM
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>> He and his coaching staff have down an awesome job and they’ve done it without the NCAA rules violations.
So the whole Corey Maggette thing never happened? Myron Piggie never paid those 5 Dukies? According to the NCAA, no, it never happened or else rat face K would have had to have faced penalties. How much did Duke have to pay the NCAA to simply ignore a major violation that both Maggette and Piggie admitted happened? Come down off of your pedestal when talking about the Duke program and their morals, doing it the right way.
This is why everyone hates Duke. They can cheat, and do, and still get away with it without so much as a strong verbal reprimand.
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- jimguida - Mar 24, 2011 at 7:43 PM
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So what you are saying is that all of the really hot chicks will date Duke?
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- beaverdam21 - Mar 24, 2011 at 9:56 PM
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This is a complex question which has fascinated serious people for several decades. The starting point for those truly interested in the subject is the website truthaboutduke.com, a scholarly collection of essays, pictures, statistics, etc. Basically every angle of the question has been considered and documented in exhaustive detail. While I am not sure it has remained up to date, it is must reading for those seeking the answer to why if Duke-UNC is such an intense and interesting rivalry the results of the ESPN poll done before each such telecast of said game has the results, by state,consistently being 50 states go for UNC and 0 for Duke. Some details in the site some younger people may not know about – early in his sainted career this earnest protege of Coach Knight, whose principles were forged in the iron morality of the USMA – not only took a leave of absence for a sore back the same year his team was losing a lot of games, but petitioned (successfully, I recall, but the result of the petition is really irrelevant) to have those losses subtracted from his official NCAA career total as he was not acting as the coach during his ordeal. He did not turn down his head coach salary during this time, nor did the assistant who took over get an increase in his salary which, again off the top of my head, was about $18K. I haven’t heard that the back has acted up since then. It is probably because of the great doctors they have at Duke.
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- rescueluke - Mar 25, 2011 at 12:49 PM
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Yes, this is totally true. Duke fans outside NC often are not up to speed on what really happens behind the Duke Iron curtain. Only Coach K would hold press conferences to lead folks to believe he might bolt for the NBA- merely a planned ruse to get boosters to fund a new practice facility that he’d been wanting. Most people don’t know that the Lakers recruted Roy Williams long before they recruited Coach K. Williams, a man with integrity, turned down their offer without fanfare.
Coach K talks about never wanting to change a thing about Cameron. Right- is that really his call? What coach wants to work in a 50 yr. old delapidated building the size of a high school gym? He knows they won’t build him a new arena and if they did, he could never fill it with spectators – Dookies leave town the minute they graduate….that’s why they can offer tickets to every single student who wants to attend a game.
Coach K was a bitter little man when he arrived in Durham and coaching in the shadow of Dean Smith for years only served to make him into a bitter old man- with dyed hair. When UNC built the Dean Dome I’ll wager Coach K went home and kicked his dog several times. Its like a child who says, “I don’t want it anyway…”
Duke is so disgusting – when Dick Vitale works a game I keep the sound turned off.
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- jgs18 - Mar 26, 2011 at 1:34 AM
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Dude, you’re just failing.
Cameron Indoor Stadium the “delapidated building” you speak of, has 20 times the history of the Dean Dome. Duke would never change it. UNC sacrificed a lot of history and tradition moving out of Carmichael. It makes economic sense, but I wouldn’t call it some great advantage. Thus Duke going undefeated at home the past 2 seasons.
And for the “Dookies leave town” stuff…you sound like a bitter kid who’s never left the farm. Duke and its alumni is a force in the Triangle area. You think the entire Southeast wants all the “Dookies” to leave Durham? Nope, they want them to stick around, become doctors, and staff one of the best university hospitals in the country.
http://www.heraldsun.com/printer_friendly/4135213
You seem to have missed the point of universities in general (can I assume you didn’t make it to one?). UNC is an incredible force for good, as is Duke. And NC State. And EVERY university and college, public and private.
Oh yeah, one more thing.
K’s 4 titles > Dean’s 2 titles
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- bangfloriohere - Mar 25, 2011 at 1:35 PM
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Duke fans should start chanting “BANG IT HERE, BANG IT HERE” at every game. Then everyone would love them!
Be hip and cool like me!
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- jgs18 - Mar 26, 2011 at 1:07 AM
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This is a well-written story, but pretty outdated. Want to write “why do people/I hate Duke?” article? Get behind Deadspin and twenty other blogs.
About that “doofus” whose face you’re broadcasting to the world again…I happen to actually go to Duke (yeah, I know, you probably don’t run into many actual students when you’re trashing our fans and way of life). Here’s an article that I wrote for the Duke Chronicle about what he’s accomplished in his roughly 19 years.
http://dukechronicle.com/node/146560
In short, he won a NIDA award for alcoholism research while still in high school. Ever have a family member with a drinking problem? Kapil’s research might one day cure it. Hearing about hugely successful and consequential people who are proud of their work…I know it’s a reason a lot of people hate the Dukes, Harvards and Princetons of the world. But as a lifelong Duke fan and current student, I’ll keep that up no matter what bored journalist writes a trite article about a worn out subject.
Anyway, congratulations of being 20 years late to the party, Rick. I like your stuff in general, and I imagine this is an innocuous post, even if you want to stuff smart(er) people in lockers. From a few of your commenters, it looks like you’ve reached the audience you want.
Check out my Duke Basketball blog, Crazie-Talk, on Twitter: twitter.com/crazietalker
-Jake S., Duke T’12
