Duke: living more on its faded glory than on current success

[NashvilleDevil]

Cowheard is a moron and a huge west coast homer. Right now it is easy for the media to get their licks in after Duke has struggled in the tourney the last couple of years. Cowheard also knows that a majority of his audience is going to agree with him about Duke so of course he is going to say something like that. Gottlieb compared Duke to Notre Dame also after Saturday's loss but he was talking more about recruiting and how kids who pick Duke or Notre Dame tend to get overrated because of the schools' past success.

[Papa John]

I was listening to Colin Cowherd on the radio the other day

And therein lies your first mistake...

and he was saying that Duke Basketball = Notre Dame Football, just a little better talent-wise.

He doesn't like ND either...

He also said that Duke had been down for the last 13 years or so despite the NC

That's just funny... A program is "down" during a period when it wins a championship, goes to the finals, and the final four a third year while winning a record 5 ACC championships in a row... Interesting...

Had some kind of stats...

Cowherd wouldn't know a stat if it walked up and bit him on the arse...

[ugadevil]

I'm pretty sure that Colin Cowherd likes Duke a great deal. I've listened to him many times when he talked about how he thinks the Cameron Crazies are the perfect example of how a student section can be clever and not degrading. He also talked this season about how this Duke team was a great example of college basketball because they rely on team play instead of the one-on-one offense we see in the NBA. I've also heard him criticize people that say Duke students and fans are stuck up, he said something along the lines of "just because they're intelligent, doesn't mean their elitist."

[Buckeye Devil]

He is an absolute idiot who should go live in a west coast commune. His lack of true sports knowledge is evidenced by the fact that he spends a lot of his program time rambling about non-sports topics that nobody with any sense even cares about.

If you want to start all the way back to 1995, there was a bit of a dry spell in terms of Final 4 showings for Duke. That reference point would work to his advantage. 1995 was the year that K started having all his health problems and missed a big chunk of the year. There were no F4's from 1995-98. But the '99 team played in the championship game (should have won it against UCONN), won the NC in 2001, and played in another F4 in 2004 losing again to UCONN. Plus, Duke had sweeet 16's in 2005-06. It's just been within the past 2 years that Duke has hit a slump in the tournament.

To compare that with ND football is absurd. The fall of the Irish has been going on much longer than 2 years and has kind of been a downward spiral for many years. I was embarrassed for them last year and I dislike ND football to about the same degree that I dislike UNC basketball. They have not won a bowl game since sometime in the mid 90's. The Irish have had minimal success in the past 25 years or so excluding the great years of Lou Holtz. Following Holtz were such coaching stalwarts as Bob Davies, Ty Willingham, and now Charlie Wiess who led the Irish to their worst year in ages. The last major bowl they played in was the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State in 2006 and they were thrashed by the Buckeyes. And think of what was before Holtz: Gerry Faust who had a disastrous run of bad seasons.

No, I think the ND comparison is horrible and only a moron like Cowterd would draw it.

[Buckeye Devil]

They last played in a major bowl after the 2006 season and were thrashed by LSU 41-14 in the 2007 Sugar Bowl. The last bowl win was 1993.

[bjornolf]

I haven't noticed him being that bad of west coast homer. I've heard him accused of that a lot, but I haven't really noticed it as bad as many people say. I hear a little bit of it peaking through, but it hasn't bugged me that much. Of course, some say there's such an anti west coast bias that some people might see it as refreshing. As for his opinion of Duke, I'm a little confused about his stance. It's almost a jeckyll and hyde kind of thing. One day, he's saying we're the best in terms of history, success, reputation, academics, sportsmanship, etc., and the next day he's backhanding us like we're his little bee-otch. Then a week later, he's back saying how great Duke is. It really confuses me. I wish he'd just pick one.

And again, I don't understand how the whole average seed vs. average wins in the tourney works. Does that take into account the two years they missed out and the one that we did? I assume not, but again, I'm just a dumb football player.

So, I see nobody likes the herd around here, but that doesn't help me argue it with the people who hold it up to me. What do I tell them? Just insult Colin? Isn't that the kind of thing we frown upon here?

[IStillHateJimBain]

Cowherd's not an idiot at all. He just does what he has to do to build ratings, and he's pretty successful at that. I doubt he really believes a lot of the stuff he says. Much of it is designed to generate reactions just like the ones in this thread. He even admits that on his show from time to time. There's probably a grain of truth in the recruiting aspect he and Gottlieb are talking about in comparing Duke basketball to Notre Dame's football program when it comes to misguided outside ratings of players. The best way to deal with Cowherd is not to react the way he wants you to.

[hokieDEVIL83]

While we're comparing programs/organizations here, I'd make an argument that Duke Basketball can be compared to Yankees baseball, particularly in the past 20 years. Think about it, Duke's dynastic success in the 90's coincided with the Yankees World Series runs at roughly the same time. And then came the hate.

Now, (IMO), almost everyone hates the Yankees and has suddenly become New England natives. The overwhelming success of these programs/organizations combined with the constant national coverage has created a great amount of resentment and/or jealousy. Duke basketball, I would argue, has now reached the same "hateraid" status of the Yankees.

The success of both the Blue Devils and Yankees has caused each team, and their fans, to "re-define" what success means to them. I think most, if not all of us would agree that anything less than a national championship is a failure on some level or another. So, by these standards, we are in a "slump" right now (if you really want to call 28-6 a slump). Much like the Yankees World Series "slump" over the past 7 years (I believe 2001 was their last appearance, which would be fitting...please correct me if I'm wrong).

Another point of similarity would be the whole north vs. south, Yankees vs. good 'ol southerners dynamic that Duke has found itself caught in. Much of the haters will argue that Duke is nothing but a bunch of rich, elitist white kids from New Jersey, transplanted to the Carolinas. And of course we know of the "elitist" tag the Yankees have been given over the last couple decades resulting in their newest moniker "the evil empire".

As a Duke fan, I say bring it on! Yes, we are in a slump. Anything less than an NCAA championship is a failure (IMO). So everyone better get their kicks in now, because Duke will be back!!! Just remember this, without success there is no hate! HATE US ALL YOU WANT, WE ARE DUKE, WE WILL NEVER DIE, WE WILL PREVAIL!

Any Yankee fans out there? What do you think?

[bjornolf]

The success of both the Blue Devils and Yankees has caused each team, and their fans, to "re-define" what success means to them. I think most, if not all of us would agree that anything less than a national championship is a failure on some level or another. So, by these standards, we are in a "slump" right now (if you really want to call 28-6 a slump). Much like the Yankees World Series "slump" over the past 7 years (I believe 2001 was their last appearance, which would be fitting...please correct me if I'm wrong).

I wouldn't go that far. I'm satisfied if we make it to the second weekend of the tourney. I consider the elite 8 to be a successful season most years (years like 1999 being an acception). It's funny, if we get to the s16 or e8 and then lose, I'm usually happy. If we get to the f4 or beyond, I feel bad when we lose. I felt especially bad for the guys my freshman year at Duke that lost to Arkansas in '94 (I think that was Grant Hill's last year). Isn't that odd? The more success we have, the more disappointed I am. That's really screwy.

[pamtar]

This from a guy who refuses to pronounce his name correctly.

Reguardless of how its spelled its pronounced kou-erd, not kou-herd. Tewel.

[Johnboy]

Any Yankee fans out there? What do you think?

Cue to Ozzie . . .

Personally, I hate being compared to the Yankees, Dallas Cowboys and Notre Dame, because, well, I don't like any of these teams. I prefer to think of UNC basketball in those terms, then dislike them all.

[NashvilleDevil]

The Yankees have not won a WS since 2000. They lost to the D-Backs in '01 and lost to the Marlins in '03.

[duke74]

While we're comparing programs/organizations here, I'd make an argument that Duke Basketball can be compared to Yankees baseball, particularly in the past 20 years. Think about it, Duke's dynastic success in the 90's coincided with the Yankees World Series runs at roughly the same time. And then came the hate.

Now, (IMO), almost everyone hates the Yankees and has suddenly become New England natives. The overwhelming success of these programs/organizations combined with the constant national coverage has created a great amount of resentment and/or jealousy. Duke basketball, I would argue, has now reached the same "hateraid" status of the Yankees.

The success of both the Blue Devils and Yankees has caused each team, and their fans, to "re-define" what success means to them. I think most, if not all of us would agree that anything less than a national championship is a failure on some level or another. So, by these standards, we are in a "slump" right now (if you really want to call 28-6 a slump). Much like the Yankees World Series "slump" over the past 7 years (I believe 2001 was their last appearance, which would be fitting...please correct me if I'm wrong).

Another point of similarity would be the whole north vs. south, Yankees vs. good 'ol southerners dynamic that Duke has found itself caught in. Much of the haters will argue that Duke is nothing but a bunch of rich, elitist white kids from New Jersey, transplanted to the Carolinas. And of course we know of the "elitist" tag the Yankees have been given over the last couple decades resulting in their newest moniker "the evil empire".

As a Duke fan, I say bring it on! Yes, we are in a slump. Anything less than an NCAA championship is a failure (IMO). So everyone better get their kicks in now, because Duke will be back!!! Just remember this, without success there is no hate! HATE US ALL YOU WANT, WE ARE DUKE, WE WILL NEVER DIE, WE WILL PREVAIL!

Any Yankee fans out there? What do you think?

As a Mets fan since 1962 (first year), PLEASE don't insult my Blue Devils by linking them to the Junkees. On the other hand, think K can buy some players and have the highest payroll in D1?

[dkbaseball]

Cowherd is long on opinions and short on information, except when he has a guest on the show. One opinion he threw out a few weeks ago: College basketball is declining significantly in popularity. Maybe it's still big on Tobacco Road, he observed, but most everywhere else it's really falling off. Didn't offer supporting evidence; just his general sense of things. Anybody else have the same sense?

[RelativeWays]

Any Yankee fans out there? What do you think?

Us Cub fans would love to be in a slump like the Yankees. DAMN YOU BARTMAN!

[dukemsu]

Cowherd is long on opinions and short on information, except when he has a guest on the show. One opinion he threw out a few weeks ago: College basketball is declining significantly in popularity. Maybe it's still big on Tobacco Road, he observed, but most everywhere else it's really falling off. Didn't offer supporting evidence; just his general sense of things. Anybody else have the same sense?

Good point. He rarely bothers to back anything up with substantive information. Basically, he is well paid to just fire off his own opinion, which is tailored to make people angry.

I suggest turning the station.

[mgtr]

This thread must hold the record for the most very, very long posts. They are hard to read. Short, pointed posts are far more effective, in my opinion.

[weezie]

Yeah, what were we taking about, exactly?

[devildownunder]

Cowherd's not an idiot at all. He just does what he has to do to build ratings, and he's pretty successful at that. I doubt he really believes a lot of the stuff he says. Much of it is designed to generate reactions just like the ones in this thread. He even admits that on his show from time to time. There's probably a grain of truth in the recruiting aspect he and Gottlieb are talking about in comparing Duke basketball to Notre Dame's football program when it comes to misguided outside ratings of players. The best way to deal with Cowherd is not to react the way he wants you to.

If this is true, I'd have more respect for him if he were an idiot with some integrity. Pathetic.