A Fan's Guide to Hating Duke — Nova Edition

Duke basketball is the ultimate polarizing force in college sports. Fans either hate Coach K's boys or love them. Very few fans have no opinion of the Blue Devils.

I fall onto the hate side.

I hate Duke and I hate Coach K.

Duke hating is my specialty.

Full disclosure -- I went to the University of Maryland in the first half of this decade. In the four years I was in school, we faced Duke 12 times including epic battles in the ACC Tournament and Final Four.

With the Duke-Maryland rivalry came a usual by-product -- hatred of the opponent. It got to the point that a Duke loss was celebrated as much as a Maryland win. Fans even hit College Park streets to celebrate Duke's loss to Indiana in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

So as the self-annointed Duke-loather, consider this my gift for the Wildcats' match-up with the Dukies.

Here are 10 things to hate about Duke.

10. No Duke fan went to Duke: Rooting for Duke is like rooting for the New York Yankees or the Dallas Cowboys. If you didn't go to Duke or you aren't from North Carolina than you have no business rooting for Duke -- get a life and stop being a front runner.

9. The Scheyer Face: Duke's emotion guy, Jon Scheyer, makes these obnoxious faces throughout the game that look as though he is suffering severe pain. Let's hope he is in pain after Nova's done with dismantling Duke.

(The Scheyer Face is fully explained here.)

8. The Cameron Crazies: These kids sleep out to get tickets only to sit inside a stadium studying during TV timeouts -- so annoying and geeky.

These fans also have a reputation for taking a page from former Dukie Jay Williams and crying after losses. They make beer for a reason -- stop studying for a second and appreciate your college years.

7. Dukie V: ESPN's Dick Vitale is anything but an objective journalist when it comes to Duke. It's pathetic to watch a grown man crowd surf than try to "objectively" call a basketball game.

6. Mike Krzyzewski: The fact that I know how to pronounce his last name is enough reason to hate him. The fact that he is diabolical helps that hatred.

5. The Blue Devil: What's a blue devil? Is Satan depressed or frozen?

4. Duke wins: It's easier to hate a winner -- plain and simple. No one hates on St. John's anymore because they stink.

3. Elton Brand: The man who the 76ers wasted money paying only so that he could go down to an injury went to Duke. It's no coincidence that the Sixers play better without his Duke influence.

2. Coach K's hair: Is that a comb-over, rug or real?

1. Because they stand in the way of Nova's championship run.

Check out "The Truth About Duke" for more Blue Devils debunking.

And, check out more stories at NBC Philadelphia's Twitter page.

Also, feel free to add your own reasons to hate Duke below.

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