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UNC Basketball: 7 reasons that North Carolina fans hate Duke

By Blake Cockrum

DURHAM, NC - MARCH 03: (L-R) Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils talks to head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels before their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - MARCH 03: (L-R) Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils talks to head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels before their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – APRIL 06: The Duke Blue Devils celebrate with the championship trophy after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers during the NCAA Men’s Final Four Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 6, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Duke defeated Wisconsin 68-63. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

They’re good

Rarely is a team hated as much as Duke if they aren’t good at what they do. Nobody would hate the New England Patriots if they hadn’t won multiple Super Bowls. The same goes for the Yankees in Major League Baseball, and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

People hate winners, unless that winner happens to be their team of choice. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why so many people hate Duke. They’ve had sustained greatness over the past 30 years — perhaps more than any other program during that stretch.

They’ve won an NCAA-best five national titles during that time span. They’ve had 14 seasons of 30 or more wins since 1990, and produced some of the NBA’s most prominent players over the past couple of decades. They also nab a number of the nation’s top recruits every year, having as much success during the one-and-done era as any program in college basketball.

Has Duke had a number of players that fans absolutely hated? Yes. Have they been grating on other fan bases with their tiny gymnasium that pits the student section right on top of opposing players, or their reluctance to schedule true road games? Absolutely. But make no mistake about it, the Duke Blue Devils are primarily hated for being so good. All of the other things that people hate about them would wash away and be quickly forgotten if it wasn’t for all of the winning.

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