Something about major sporting events makes me just wanna blog. The final four has proved to be no exception. It's been a thrilling tournament, thanks largely to a lack of elite teams. You all know what's happened by now; there's been a ton of upsets and nothing is to be taken for granted in this tourney. Only one #1 seed it to this year's final four, and it was the 1 seed that I least expected: Duke. Granted, Duke had by far the easiest of the four brackets. But still, I watched Duke this play this year and didn't think they were elite (let's face it, when BC comes within inches of beating you, it's tough to be considered all that great). Regardless, the Dukies are in the final four, yet again, and that gets a lot of people fired up. But why?
A couple nights ago, I was having dinner with my parents and aunt and uncle, and we began talking sports and inevitably about march madness. My uncle is a guy who is not afraid to speak his mind and though I may not always agree with his opinions, I really respect his honesty. When asked who he'd be rooting for in the final four, he said very matter-of-fact, "Duke, because they have a lot of white kids." Bingo. Year after year, Duke has a sizable number of white kids. I actually have a theory that eventually the entire team will be white. I think that it's understood now, that if you're one of the best high school basketball players and you're white, you go to Duke (or at least strongly consider it).
Most people tend to associate with people who look like them. There's nothing wrong with that. So why do you think so many kids growing up tend to like Duke? It's a bunch of guys who look like they do, not like what you'd expect great basketball players to look like. I'm not afraid to admit that I liked Duke when I was a kid. Shane Battier was the man. I'm sure I never thought, "I'm gonna like this team because they're a bunch of white guys," but that subconsciously may have made them more attractive to me.So with all of these fans across the nation, of course Duke games are going to be on TV a lot. They get a ton of attention from the media. Now add in the fact that Duke is a great school, the players don't seem to get in a lot of trouble off the court, they are
a great team year after year, and you're going to get a program that is adored by the media. The media's love for Duke is obnoxious (does Dick Vitale come to mind?). I completely understand hating a team because of the media's love affair with them (without the media I wonder how I would feel about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Cleveland Lebrons).I hate listening to sports analysts and even fans talk about why people feel so strongly about Duke (it came up earlier this week on The Herd). People always use the words "entitled," "elitist," and "class" to describe Duke. Why not just come out and say it? Their players are WHITE. When watching a game, of course a white kid complaining to the ref is going to look like a lot more of a cry baby than a black kid who does the same thing. Guys on Duke just don't come off as being as tough and intimidating as their opponents, I wonder why that is.
For an example, let's turn to a team that is all too close to my heart: the New York Mets. The Mets had two young prospects a couple of years ago with great potential. Both of these guys were projected to be great major league players, one at shortstop and one at third base. Their names: Jose Reyes and David Wright. I'll be willing to bet all kinds of money that Wright sold more jerseys and t-shirts than Reyes. And Reyes is one hell of a player, one of the fastest I've ever seen. But who became the face of the team? Wright. And this is in New York, maybe the most diverse city in the world.It's time to be honest, there's a small element of racism in people that's never going to go away. As I said earlier, people are more comfortable with other people that look like they do, and there's nothing wrong with that, it's just human instinct. That's why I love the Olympics and World Cup. Finally, events where you can root for the guys who are more like you without feeling guilty!
It's the racial make up of the team, combined with the media's love affair that make people either love or hate Duke. I'll be rooting for West Virginia on Saturday, but that's because a WVU win can make me a winner in my bracket pool. If I was out, I'm not sure who I'd be rooting for. As someone who can see both sides of the coin, I'm indifferent toward Duke. You have to respect their program, but guys like Dickie V do make them pretty damn tough to root for.
