As a Duke fan...

[LittleRed212]

As evidenced by the VCU-Duke thread that was started a few weeks ago, I know that many hate Duke and I remember a person saying Duke chokes in the tournament every year.

Well...

Georgetown vs. UNC

- Georgetown rallies from 11 down in the second half, with 14 straight points in overtime
- UNC gets outscored 31-11 in the final 9:55 of regulation and overtime
- UNC made only one of 23 field goal attempts over a 15-minute span

If that's not a choke-job, I don't know what is.

Duke might have outright sucked this year by Duke standards (I fully admit it, so there's no use in telling me that) and lost in the first round, but we weren't expected to do as well in the first place and we were never considered national championship contenders this year. As much as I love Duke, I knew that there was a chance that we'd lose early in the tourney and I never made grand statements suggesting otherwise. We just didn't have "it" this year, so there really was no choke from Duke.

UNC on the other hand...wow. Now they had the expectations this year, so if they failed, that would be a chokejob, right? I mean...in order for a team to choke, they have to have high expectations placed upon them, only to fail in the end, correct?

And on top of it all, I picked all Final Four teams correctly. Life is good and this Duke fan can finally crack a little smile. :

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Love your team more than you hate your rival.

Meh....Both teams are out of it now.

 

[peplaw06]

Preach on sista...

That game was great. At the end, neither of us were national champs.

 

[LittleRed212]

Love your team more than you hate your rival.

I think for the most part, or at least from the fellow Duke fans that I know, that we do love Duke more than we hate UNC. I talk about Duke and what's going on with them more so than I talk about what UNC does or does not do. But I just remembered that thread where people were making these ridiculous statements that were based on nothing but the hate that they have for Duke.

I have encountered so many UNC fans that talk more about Duke than they do about their own team. And I've also met many Commanders fans who talk about Dallas more than they do about Washington. It's extremely parallel - the Commanders-Dallas rivalry is just an example that I think we can all relate to since we like the Cowboys.

Embrace the hate, is what us Cowboys fans say. I say the same thing since I root for the Devils too.

But when the hate sprouts irrational opinions, as evidenced in that VCU-Duke thread, that's when I have to say a little somethin' and give my two cents.

You can hate a team, but do it with some common sense and give credit where credit is due. I have no problem admitting that UNC had one heck of a season - a lot of UNC fans would not say the same if Duke had a good year. Usually they just say "(blank) dook." You can't argue or have conversations with people like that...they're in their own little world.

 

[trickblue]

It's always great when both Dook and UNC are eliminated from the tourney...

 

[Yeagermeister]

It's always great when both Dook and UNC are eliminated from the tourney...

When was the last time SFA made the tournament? Are they even D1?

 

[trickblue]

When was the last time SFA made the tournament? Are they even D1?

No... division 1-AA... been a while since we made it, but we have been there...

 

[AtlCB]

The ACC as a whole stunk up the tournament this year. The conference usually has a good showing (including Duke and UNC).

 

[LittleRed212]

It was a craaaazy year in the ACC, that's for sure.

I was amazed at all of the UVA fans that came out of the woodworks this season though. I live 30 minutes from campus and I still had no idea that there were so many.

 

[SA_Gunslinger]

Love your team more than you hate your rival.

please send that memo to college station.

:laugh2: