What is the big deal about Duke?

[Stretch]

I don't understand the infatuation with Duke that has the ESPN folks slobbering all over themselves. Duke is an elitist, ivory tower private school that 99% of the people in America can't begin to identify with. They are NEVER the underdog. Most importantly, however, they DON'T WIN championships any more frequently than anybody else. Their last NCAA title was 2001 and before that it was 1993. In the last 10 years they have ONE championship--the same as Maryland and Syracuse and Michigan State and UNC and Arizona and FEWER than Kentucky and UCONN who each have TWO in the same period, even though the Dookies have the best recruiting classes and the best talent in America year after year.

So tell me, how does a bunch of elitist under-achievers rate this unprecedented level of attention and ga-ga hero worship?

[Athens2005]

Duke wears blue & white (which is relatively all-American).

They are an elitist school, which makes them and their players "safe" to promote.

They have a geographically neutral name, so saying, "Duke" doesn't immediately turn off a portion of the country, like saying "Carolina" or "Kentucky" will.

They play in a basketball conference that is consistently one of the finest in the country, making it easy to market their games.

Because they are private, it is easier for them to cheat, making it less likely that they will be involved in a scandal.

There are a lot more, but these are a few of the reasons.



They are the perfect team to market. It's sad, but true.