Originally Posted by
brevity
Contrarianism and mass readability.
Bill Simmons is, first and foremost, a Bostonian. His point of view centers around a have (Celtics) and a former have-not (Red Sox). So he understands that it's in his best interest to either hate the established winner (Yankees) as the bitter underdog, or support them as a long-term fan. There's no in-between.
He doesn't write much about the college game, but he knows it's not marketable to have no opinion on Duke basketball. He has readers/fans who are more interested in the college game than he does, so it's good to throw them a bone every once in a while. And, if he has no personal stake in this, it's easier to hate Duke by default and begrudgingly respect Coach K's Team USA job than to love Duke by default and have his mailbag filled with college-oriented hate mail that he would consider off-topic.
Where in sports is the perennial power also universally loved? Even Lance Armstrong has enemies.
It disappoints me that this tangential anti-Duke behavior might truly bother anyone on this board. Rise above it.