Anti-Duke Manifesto-The Complete Hate

With the exception of the Yankees, none of these teams ever came close to engendering the level of pure, unadulterated hate that Duke commands. As for the Yankees, I personally do not hate them, though I do routinely root against them in the playoffs. I simply cannot bring myself to hate Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, et al. (Granted, if they begin to slap the field while on defense and jump in opposing base runners’ paths with impunity, I probably will.) The reason I root against them, and the reason so many people do hate the Yankees’ franchise, is because it simply buys whatever talent it desires. Always has. From Babe Ruth, to Reggie Jackson, to Dave Winfield, to Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson, when Yankee ownership sees a player it needs, it simply buys him.

I don’t think this is the reason why we hate Duke, (although after Corey Maggette I cannot eliminate this possibility). No, the reason we hate Duke goes far deeper. If the Duke defenders who offer this defense would simply read the pages that follow, they would easily see the fallacy of this reasoning.

Criticism no. 2 is well taken. Schools from across the nation have classic examples to share. I owe Kentucky a particular apology for overlooking the obvious – Laettner’s pass for stomping the chest of an opposing Wildcat. I attempt to correct that deficiency by providing a more diverse and cross-representative sampling of examples in this revised edition. But the reader must understand that while many schools experience the misfortune of dealing with this program, we in the ACC must stomach Duke year in and year out. Consequently, there will be more examples provided from ACC play.

I find the third criticism annoying. As the title forewarns, this writing is intended to be a comprehensive analysis of the reasons why we hate Duke. That such an inexhaustible subject can be covered in less than a multi-volume treatise is, to me, a small wonder. As an attorney and an historian, I tend to support my arguments thoroughly. It is the reason why no Duke supporter has been able to formulate an intelligent rebuttal to any of the points made – with the possible exception of the free throw disparities.