Saturday, March 17, 2012

EPH YOU: Other than the New York Yankees, is there a team that makes more Americans happy to see lose than the Duke Blue Devils?

41 comments:

  1. Joseph J, Finn1:09 PM

    The New England Patriots.

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  2. Chin Music1:29 PM

    Judging by the consistent crowds and 100+ years of failure, I think the correct answer is the Chicago Cubs.

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  3. Duvall1:36 PM

    Wonder what it says about us that the answer isn't something like the current iteration of the Philadelphia Eagles.

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  4. isaac_spaceman2:33 PM

    Scratching my head over here trying to figure out why people should hate Duke more than this version of Kentucky (or whatever team is currently being coached by John Calipari, with Bob Huggins in second place).  I do understand that they do; just don't understand why they do. 

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  5. Joseph J, Finn2:35 PM

    That's cold man.  15 points for Gryffindor.

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  6. Adam C.2:44 PM

    In the not-too-distant past, I'd have said that the Dallas Cowboys complete the Hated Trinity, together with Duke and the Yankees.  But the Cowboys ceased being as relevant and as consistently successful, so at present this is probably limited to the population of me.

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  7. Chris C2:50 PM

    Overexposure to Dick Vitale activates antibodies to Duke.

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  8. Anonymous3:00 PM

    The French.

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  9. Meghan3:20 PM

    I'd add Notre Dame but I have to acknowledge that a lot of people enjoy when Michigan loses.  Which they did.  Again.

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  10. victoria3:23 PM

    When Spurrier was coaching Florida, that would've been a contender, but neither South Carolina nor the current incarnation of Florida football seems to inspire quite the level of ire.

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  11. Randy3:48 PM

    I felt a bit of sympathy for Cubs and Cubs fans before seeing Catching Hell.  But now, I hope they never win.

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  12. Alex Gordon3:49 PM

    As a Michigan fan/alum, the Duke loss took a lot of the sting out of seeing the Maize and Blue blow it. And I second Notre Dame.

    This incarnation of the Miami Heat (or maybe just LeBron) has to be on the shortlist.

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  13. The short answer is no.

    As for why, speaking as a North Carolinian (and Wake Forest alumnus) it's the elitist attitude, the prickliness of Mike Krzyzewski, jealousy over their success...and maybe it's just my generation, but I think the hatred for Laettner and Hurley from their first two championship teams has stuck with a lot of people.

    Oh, and Vitale.

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  14. I'm always thrilled when Mizzou goes down, but that's a regional thing, I know. Last night was pretty much my dream bball night: Mizzou and Duke lose. Kansas wins easily. Rock Chalk!

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  15. I think it has something to do with the tenure of the coaches. I enjoy hating Calipari's teams--one of the blogs I read has an over/under on whether anyone announcing the Kentucky games this tournament would ever utter the word "vacated." I think the hatred for Duke comes from Coach K's long tenure, the school's overall smugness, and the way the national media fawns over them. Enough already!

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  16. Adam C.5:07 PM

    Here's where I get the chance to say I was at the Duke-Kentucky game in the 1992 East Regional, sitting behind the basket whence The Pass came. No love for either team; still could not have been more thrilled by the ending.

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  17. Adam--I'm truly jealous. Even I couldn't hate Duke much that day.

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  18. isaac_spaceman5:47 PM

    Why hate them for Coach K's long tenure?  People didn't hate Dean Smith for that.  Better to be loyal than to be a traveling infestation like Calipari.  And I get the thing about the smugness (and the national media thing), but those seem like small potatoes in comparison to the way that Calipari's whole being is to embrace wholeheartedly the worst parts of big college athletics and to give not two shits about the good parts. 

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  19. For me, the Duke thing is definitely more about the media's love affair with the school than anything against Coach K.  And I agree on Calipari; he just doesn't stay in one school long enough for the hatred to really cement.

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  20. Dean Smith seemed more warm and fuzzy than Coach K. Plus, while UNC was very good for many years, there were almost 20 years between national championships. What I meant about Coach K's tenure was that they've been consistently successful for as long as he's been there (with an odd off year thrown in for good measure). That consistent success added to the attitude of the players and students is what gets people crazy. I agree that Calipari is a cancer on the game, and I don't understand why he keeps getting hired after leaving multiple programs in shambles. He's successful in terms of wins, sure, but he doesn't bring prestige to programs with those wins.

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  21. The Pathetic Earthling7:40 PM

    Does USC rate in this?  I don't have a visceral distaste for USC, since I have to root for them against Stanford, but I imagine many do.

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  22. Are you just TRYING to bait me? 

    Seriously, Patriots hate at a national level is a fairly recent development.

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  23. No, I'll join you in Cowboys hate. "America's team" my ass.

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  24. Joseph J, Finn10:12 AM

    November 17, 1985, should be a national holiday for sports fans.  
    http://www.youtube.com/v/Yf_Bv_A_xdo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="170" height="140

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  25. J. Bowman11:58 AM

    I don't react much when I see a USC score on a news crawl, but when I watch them, the mere presence of the USC band gets me to root for whomever they're playing.

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  26. Nancy1:17 PM

    Nope. I rejoiced at Lehigh's win, especialy since my Butler Bulldogs are not in it this year.

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  27. Under the same banner, the Red Sox count, right?

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  28. Jenn.7:04 PM

    Nope. Still despise the Gators. A Gators loss is a beautiful thing,

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  29. I blame Christian Laettner.

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  30. Smith College!

    Go Mount Holyoke Lyons!!

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  31. True that. But I went to FSU, so I'm supposed to think that. 

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  32. As a long-suffering Cubs fan, I'm here to tell you that your hope will be fulfilled. :(

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  33. Thank you for posting that!  That was a great day, and I still have the program from that game.

    Weird trivia: the combined score of the Rams win over the Cowboys in the playoffs, and the Bear's win over the Rams, was also 44-0.

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  34. Anonymous10:54 AM

    We don't hate the Red Sox as much as their obnoxious fan base.

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  35. Ironic.  A clean program with decent human beings that generally go on to achieve something positive in society - and they're hated.

    How 'bout some 'hate' for The Chicago Bears - after Lovie Smith's racial shenanigans.

    Or  Michigan - was anything in the history of the Universe ever more hyped than the Fab Five?

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  36. Anonymous12:33 PM

    A year ago I would have said Penn State......but now most people just react to them as pathetic

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  37. B_Futt1:09 PM

    Alabama football, of course.  Century-long history of cheating, a fan base that's fit for the nuthouse (Harvey Updyke the tree-poisoner is NOT an outlier, he's the norm), and a current coach with all the ethics and integrity of a meth dealer.

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  38. Anonymous6:33 PM

    <span>For me, the Duke thing is definitely more about the media's love affair with the school than anything against Coach K.</span>
    <span></span>
    <span>With the exception of one half-senile color commentator, the media's "long love affair" has been over for at least a decade.  You're far more likely to find outright hostility these days.</span>

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  39. Anonymous9:08 AM

    UNC.  Hate them more than any team anywhere.  Always will.  I-L-L-I-N-I.

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  40. Back in the day, everyone in the Southeast (Braves fans all) would smile every time the Mets came up short

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  41. Anonymous12:38 AM

    i hate these teams and the people that they represent with a hatred that cannot be maesured. alabama,notre dame,boston red soxs and boston celtics. 

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