The Final Four: Not Everyone Hates Duke – For Once

This is the year that may present a true dilemma in regard to the American pastime of hating on Duke, for this is the year that Duke may face an undefeated Kentucky team in the NCAA final, and the Wildcats are the one squad that has aroused nearly as much antipathy as the Blue Devils themselves. And now, if Kentucky finds a way to blow through Wisconsin, Duke might well become the last, best hope to foil the Wildcats' buzzsaw of a season. And this would present the majority of the country with a legitimate hater's dilemma: Do we root for the team that represents the encroachment of professionalism on the college game, or the team that so smugly embraces the "collegiate ethos" while reveling in its own professional elitism?