Ok, lets get started (crackling my fingers).
Hate is a pretty strong word. And I don't know if there are 5 teams out there that I actually hate. Having said that, I know there are 4 teams out there that I actually do hate. So here are four of them!
#4 University of Florida Football
This team represented SEC football in all myyears of growing up in Kentucky. They have now beaten us 25 times in a row. I cannot remember the last time we beat Florida in Football, and for many many years, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia beat up on the likes of Kentucky and Vanderbilt in the SEC east. The reason I hate Florida over those two other teams is because we have come so close to beating UF on a handful of occasions only to have victory snatched from our hands in the wanning seconds. Plus, nobody likes Goliath. And I'm no different.
#3 University of Louisville
Bear with me. First of all, most all the legions and legions of UK fans that live in the state of Kentucky would easily put UL on #1 on this list. However, most of those fans, don't run into as many Duke and UNC fans as I do, as a result of living out of state. More on that in a moment. For that reason though, UL is # 3 on this list. You see, I grew up in the Denny Crum years of Louisville hoops, and right here in the thick of things. The UL-UK rivaly is every bit as big as a UNC-Duke rivalry, if not bigger, because we only play once a year. You have to listen to UL fans all year long if you lose to them. You don't play them 3 times a year like Duke-UNC do. So bragging rights are at a premium around here. Growing up, Louisville was the #1 most hated team on my list. Now, however, Im a little different than alot of other UK fans in that I dont mind Pitino being at UL. So they are much more tolerable for me these days and Ill even watch them whenever they are on National TV. Make no mistake though, I hate this team, I just have a little more respect for them these days.
#2 The UNC Tar Heels
This team is number two on my list because they are one of the best ever. I hated them before Roy Williams went there. I hated them when Rasheed Wallace elbowed Andre Riddick in the 95' Elite Eight, and Riddick got ejected for putting Rasheed Wallace in the most vicious choke hold he has probably ever expereinced. Plus, I hate them maybe evn more now, because since Ole' Roy went there they have gotten better. I didn't mind this team at all last year, probably because they went to the NIT, which makes me happy=) But when these guys are top-5 in the country, and and have Title hope aspirations, there is only one team I hate more...
#1 The Duke Blue Devils
This was the easiest choice on the list. Im showing my age here in saying this, but because i am just a few years older, most of you guys readin this were probably too young to remember when Laettner hit that shot against us back in 92". For me though, I remember exactly where I was at, what I was doing, and how I felt for the next 2 months after he hit that game winner, and how it still makes me fell today sometimes. Its a pain I wouldnt wish on any of you guys to ever experience. That was our first year off of probation and Pitino came to UK and cleaned up the mess of the Eddie Sutton debacle, and had the UK players and fans believing they could accomplish ANYTHING with hard work, and believing in themselves. It wasnt just that Laettner hit that shot though. Earlier in the game, he went and stomped on a UK players chest in the game while he was on the floor. And all the Refs could muster up was a techinal foul for him when he should have been thrown out for that. I have read that if it was any other UK player that he stepped on, they would have jumped up given him a black-eye. Aminu Timberlake was just a laid-back guy,though. So when Laettner hit that shot, it was like adding insult to injury. The fact that CBS replays that shot every March doesn't help either. And the other reason I simply hate Duke more than anyone is because of the fans. Now, Im gonna get real for a minute. Plain and simple, Most of my closest friends who have a favorite college hoops team have some sort of connection with thier team, whether they are from Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, etc. However, out of the 7 Duke fans that I know who are friends of mine, and I am proud to call them my friends, NONE of them have any connection whatsoever with the state of North Carolina or the Duke University program itself (like maybe thier dad went to school there or something, at least, lol). Im not even sure if most of them have ever even been to the state of North Carolina. All these fans I know are from New York, Colorado, and Massachussettes. Now go figure, so it makes me mad that they decide to make Duke thier # 1 team, and then I have to hear about alot of these fans gloating whenever Duke does well. Not all of them do, but I know alot of them that do. There are one or two of these guys who's love for Duke I do respect because they dont gloat much and I know they know thier team, which is a rarity. So in all honesty, its probably because of the Duke fans that I truly hate Duke University more than anyone, especially thier fans in Cameron Indoor. Ive heard of those guys take below the belt cheap shots at opposing players that I wouldnt ever even whisper to someone next to me. Makes me hate them even more. I do have great respect for Duke, but I hate the Duke Blue Devils and would love to see them hit a 2-3 year losing streak just so I could truly see how many of those Duke fans actually stick with them thru thick and thin,like the rest of us fans do with our home state teams or the college that is closest to our home or family.
1 comment:
Interesting list, Trey! All those programs have been very successful through the years. I can see why a UK fan would feel that way! On these lists of hate I am reminded of a statement that goes like this: "We don't see things as they are; we see them as we are." That's why it is fun to talk about these things in that we get to see other perspectives.
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