In honor of March Madness….
As the NCAA men’s basketball tournament gets under way, I’m glad to see that the Chicago Tribune‘s Julia Keller brings up a fascinating phenomenon among both sports fans and many of my friends — an irrational hatred of Duke: As Duke University begins the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament as the overall No. 1 seed ...
As the NCAA men's basketball tournament gets under way, I'm glad to see that the Chicago Tribune's Julia Keller brings up a fascinating phenomenon among both sports fans and many of my friends -- an irrational hatred of Duke: As Duke University begins the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament as the overall No. 1 seed -- meaning those pesky Blue Devils stand a fair chance of hanging around as the bracket unravels to the fortunate quartet -- it is time, clearly, to answer the question looming over the college sports world like a freeze-frame of a jump hook: Why do so many of us hate Duke? Is it the fact that they've been astonishingly successful, year after year, or that many referees seem curiously reluctant to whistle fouls on Duke personnel? Is it the fact that Duke is an inarguably fine school with a sterling academic reputation -- enough to turn those of us from less august institutions a sickly shade of pea-green from sheer envy? Is it the antipathy that seems naturally to accrue to Duke's consonant-enriched Coach Mike Krzyzewski? For me, it's all of the above -- plus the perennial assumption that Duke players are philosopher-kings and Coach K is a Plato with a pate enhanced by Grecian Formula. Lest one think this problem only occurs among laymen, sportswriter Bomani Jones confesses, while watching the ACC tourney, "I nearly got an ulcer sitting at that [press] table not rooting against Duke." Anyone else out there feel this way? UPDATE: Yes, apparently Abu Aardvark does.
As the NCAA men’s basketball tournament gets under way, I’m glad to see that the Chicago Tribune‘s Julia Keller brings up a fascinating phenomenon among both sports fans and many of my friends — an irrational hatred of Duke:
As Duke University begins the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament as the overall No. 1 seed — meaning those pesky Blue Devils stand a fair chance of hanging around as the bracket unravels to the fortunate quartet — it is time, clearly, to answer the question looming over the college sports world like a freeze-frame of a jump hook: Why do so many of us hate Duke? Is it the fact that they’ve been astonishingly successful, year after year, or that many referees seem curiously reluctant to whistle fouls on Duke personnel? Is it the fact that Duke is an inarguably fine school with a sterling academic reputation — enough to turn those of us from less august institutions a sickly shade of pea-green from sheer envy? Is it the antipathy that seems naturally to accrue to Duke’s consonant-enriched Coach Mike Krzyzewski? For me, it’s all of the above — plus the perennial assumption that Duke players are philosopher-kings and Coach K is a Plato with a pate enhanced by Grecian Formula.
Lest one think this problem only occurs among laymen, sportswriter Bomani Jones confesses, while watching the ACC tourney, “I nearly got an ulcer sitting at that [press] table not rooting against Duke.” Anyone else out there feel this way? UPDATE: Yes, apparently Abu Aardvark does.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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