Driving The Lane: You Jealous?

Saturday night, the No. 3 Duke University Blue Devils defeated the No. 5 University of Miami Hurricanes 79-76 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. There were two main points that I took from this game. First off, the Cameron crazies (Duke’s devoted student fan base) did not storm the court. In a season where it seems every game ends with the students dancing around with the players on the court, this game did not. The students, while noticeably excited, stayed in their seats. They had been there before. This was a big win, but it’s not the end for Duke. It has much bigger plans for this season.

It was refreshing that students finally refrained from storming the court, because this court-storming thing needs to simmer down. Besides it being dangerous, it’s also just embarrassing. When students storm the court they are basically saying, “We know we’re not good enough to really accomplish anything this year, so we’re going to celebrate this one win like it’s the Super Bowl.”

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be excited when your team upsets a top-ten powerhouse. What I am saying, is it isn’t grounds for rushing the court. Reserve that for only very special situations, like when a rival upsets the number one team when no one gave it a chance.

This year it’s happening every week, and it’s lost its mojo. Even if you haven’t been there before, you should act like you have. When the Jets upset the Patriots in the Divisional round of the 2010 NFL playoffs, Antonio Cromartie of the Jets was literally doing back flips on the field as the clock ticked down to zero. When the Jets lost the next week and their season didn’t amounting to anything, they looked foolish. They were a team that needed to learn how to win the right way, unlike Duke.

As a Duke fan, I was rooting hard for my Blue Devils while watching that game. But I imagine that just about everyone else in the country was rooting for the Hurricanes to pull the upset. It got me thinking why everybody seems to root against Duke. Is it because they don’t storm the court, even after a huge win against a conference rival? Duke wins games like this one every single year. It all comes down to jealousy. Duke is a number one or number two-seed in the tournament every single year, and people resent them for that.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs recently declared that the New England Patriots are the most hated team in the NFL. He claims that his hatred of the Pats stems from how the team ‘disrespected’ the Ravens when the teams met in 2007. But quite frankly, that’s a load of bull. He’s just jealous! That’s why everyone hates the Patriots, they’re all jealous. The Patriots are not only the greatest team in the NFL during the past decade, but they’re also one of the classiest organizations in the league. It’s okay to hate them, but understand that you only do so because they are so good.

I’m a huge Boston Red Sox fan, and I absolutely despise the New York Yankees. They are the evil empire. But I know I only hate them because they are easily the best team in the history of baseball. It’s a great rivalry, but the all-time championship totals aren’t even close. I know that at the end of the day, my hatred stems from how good the Yankees are year in and year out.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t hate teams just for being good. In fact, I encourage it. It’s good for sports because it creates hardened rivalries. But always know why you hate these teams. It’s not because they ‘disrespect’ your team. It’s just because they are so dominant. Never forget that.