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Think the Yankees are despised? Now that March Madness is here, Duke-hating "is as much a rite ... as marking up your bracket with a red pen," write Josh Levin and Jim Pagels in Slate. They not-so-kindly run down 18 of the Blue Devils' most loathsome moments:
- 1986: Duke fans fall in love with themselves after setting up tents in so-called "Krzyzewskiville"—a makeshift camp named after six-year head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Soon a simple setup "devolved into a Byzantine three-color classification system with wait lists and line monitors."
- 1990: Coach Krzyzewski gathers journalists from Duke's student paper after it gives the team a mere B+. "I'm not looking for puff pieces or anything like that," Krzyzewski said, "but you're whacked out and you don't appreciate what the [bleep] is going on and it [bleeps] me off.”
- 1992: In a regional final against Kentucky, Blue Devil Christian Laettner plays a perfect game, going 10-10 from the free throw line and from the floor. When he stomps on an opponent, refs just give him a technical—and he goes on to hit "his infamous game-winner."
- 1995: When star forward Elton Brand leaves the team after two years, he receives an email from Duke alum Jennifer Taylor expressing her "disgust. ... [You] will not be considered part of the Duke family." Brand fires back: "Never being considered a part of your posh group of yuppies really hurts me to the heart."
Still don't hate the Blue Devils? Click for the
full list here.
