Anti-Duke Manifesto-The Complete Hate

1. That Duke is simply hated because its basketball program is so successful, much like Major League Baseball’s Yankees;

2. That the examples I provide are too UNC and/or ACC oriented;

3. That the composition is too long and wordy; and

4. That I, the humble author, need to ‘get a life.’

Taking these in order, I respond as follows:

Many a Duke fan attempts to dismiss the article outright by simply labeling it the product of jealousy. SI writer Phil Taylor exemplifies this mindless approach with his myopic article entitled, ‘Blue With Envy.’ Washington Post writer Tony Kornheiser recently echoed this shallow drivel in a column that specifically compared the hatred to that held for the Yankees. I suppose this is an easy enough way to avoid addressing the countless examples, statistics, and decades of hard historical evidence that support the criticisms outlined. But it is a little too simple. Perennial success, standing alone, does not breed hatred. Does anyone hate Lance Armstrong? Or Tiger Woods? Or Serena Williams?

Thinking back over my lifetime, there have been, and continue to be, other sports programs that are equal if not superior to Duke (and the Yankees) in their levels of long-term success – UNC basketball, UCLA’s Wooden-era basketball, Kentucky basketball, the Lakers of the late 70s and 80s, the NBA Celtics of the 60s and 80s, the Michael Jordan Bulls teams, and many more.