We aim to please our 12 fans here at CDTF, especially eloquent word wizards like Pat, one of my fave people. As he correctly pointed out, the rabidity of the anti-Duke crowd in Charlotte – comprised primarily of UNC fans – was especially obnoxious and creepy. But with March Madness in full swing, it is only expected that the irrational Duke haters will come out in full force. You know what I say to that? Hate on, Haters. We don’t give a fuck. But I do feel like all of this Duke hate needs to be properly addressed. 
By now, we have already been saturated with Jalen Rose and his Uncle Tom comments. Grant Hill is a “little bitch” and all that jazz. Forget that Michigan is just as white and elitist as Duke, or that the Fab Five lost every game that they played against the Blue Devils, or that Jalen Rose apologized to Grant Hill before the documentary aired – there was something particularly disingenuous and spiteful about the whole little bitchfest. But maybe in the midst of ESPN shoving the envious Fab Five down our throats, you missed last week’s ridiculous column by Terence Moore, entitled “Why we hate Duke.” 
Moore states outright that he hates the Blue Devils.He compares us to the Yankees and Cowboys, but he says “that this Duke thing goes deeper,” because we carry “a haughty reputation.” He applauds Jalen Rose.He generalizes that if you are black and “if you play or cheer for Duke,” then “you aren’t exactly hugged by a segment of your peers. I’ve seen as much from my friends and relatives forever.” Well, we can’t help it if your friends and relatives are racist forever. But, according to Moore, it is not just a racial thing. He hates us because the “Powers That Be” always let us play the first round in North Carolina.He concedes that all top seeds get to play close to home, but that “Duke basketball is about perception to its bashers, and the perception is that the Blue Devils get all of the breaks.”He also hates us because we “get all of the calls” and because Coach K is a “designated saint.” He does not cite statistics or facts. Jay Bilas argues that it would be impossible for a team to get a consistent foul advantage like Moore claims that Duke gets. Moore’s response? “Uh-huh. And the Blue Devils mascot doesn’t carry a pitchfork.”
I am glad that CNN is the “most trusted name in news.” Besides his over-generalization and exaggeration, the real problem with the piece is that Terence Moore does not explain, in any rational fashion, why Duke is actually hated. He just provides a laundry list of complaints and misperceptions, factually supported or not, that people have against us. So let me spell it out for all of you Haterz out there.Why You Hate Duke
You hate us because we are too busy winning to care about you hating us. You hate us because we are cocky and arrogant and expect to beat you each and every time. You hate us because we play stifling defense and slap the floor and force turnovers. You hate us because our stifling defense does not commit fouls and wreaks havoc on your mediocre offense. That we win so often that ESPN is in talks to change ESPN Classic into ESPN Cameron. You hate that our fingers are heavy from all of the rings we wear, and you hope that the rafters cave in so the Crazies suffocate under all of the banners. You hate that most announcers, including Dickie V, love us because we aren’t criminals, we graduate our players, and we win titles. It is really obnoxious of us, I know. You hate that our coach, a little man with an admittedly rat-like face, happens to know basketball better than Dumbledore knows magic. You hate that American Express recognizes this and plasters his image all over TV. It drives you nuts that he doesn’t have to cheat. That we don’t need tutors to write our essays and that, if nothing else, we aren’t stupid enough to tweet about the illegal benefits we receive. You hate that Coach K is so good that our country, America herself, begged him to bring home a gold in the Olympics. And you know what? You sort of hate that he delivered.
You hate us so much that you write books about it. You dedicate entire websites and write rap songs about it. You hate that we sound well-spoken in interviews, and you hate that we don’t have to take the ACT six times. You can’t stand that after we kick your ass on the court for four years, we go on to become NBA stars, ESPN analysts, journalists, and Division I coaches. You hate that we can take a charge, and you’re just jealous that you can’t flop as well. It sucks for you that Duke basketball has such rabid fans, that we passionately care about our school and our program, that we show up to make sure everyone knows it. It sucks that we make your fans look pathetic in the process. I pretty much guarantee that your alumni list is longer than ours, so it is just that we all care more. And you hate that. You hate that some of our student body comes from privileged homes, and you assume that we haven’t worked our asses off to become the best of the best. You are wrong about that, but you are too busy hating to know any better. It is so unfair that we have state-of-the-art facilities, a history-packed arena that caters towards students, and a camp of Crazies waiting outside. You hate that we are a dominating force on the recruiting trail again, because it comes down to the fact that we are, above all else, winners. And you hate that I am right.The truth is, you used to love us. You loved us when we were the squeaky clean underdogs, led by some unknown and unpronounceable coach, trying to topple the mighty UNLV. You loved us when we finally did. You just hate that, since then, we haven’t forgotten how to win. And you hate that we never will.
We won't apologize for it. So, please, by all means, keep bitching. We recognize that it is difficult to constantly live in the shadow of greatness.
