David Sirota: These Devils Wear Privilege

[marmar]

from Truthdig:



These Devils Wear Privilege

Posted on Apr 1, 2010
By David Sirota


With the beginning of the ever-optimistic spring season, the television is delivering yet another thrilling college hoops clinic, meaning it’s time for us to gulp down our annual swig of Haterade—specifically, the blue-tinted kind. Once again, Duke basketball is upon us, and analyzing the root cause of widespread Blue Devil enmity has now become a Kremlinology-like sub-specialty among the sports cognoscenti.

Some, like ESPN’s Bill Simmons, suggest that Duke is loathed because it supposedly gets preferential treatment—i.e., better bracket placement—from NCAA officials. Columnist Paul Wachter goes further, asserting that Duke foes believe the team unduly “gets all the press and all the calls.” Meanwhile, NBC’s Mike Celizic proffers the mishmash hypothesis: “Haters think the Devils’ fans are arrogant snots, that the coach is a pinch-faced biddy and that few of the players are NBA-bound.”

Having grown up in Philadelphia during the city’s championship-less dark ages, I’ve developed a particular expertise in (and appreciation for) such virulent sports resentment—and in the Great Duke Debate, I side with The Nation’s Dave Zirin. Combine all the leading explanations, add in Duke’s status as an upper-crust, ultra-expensive private school, and I subscribe to his theory that says our penchant for hating on the Blue Devils reflects America’s larger, more complex relationship with privilege.

This makes sociopolitical sense. A country founded on anti-royalism and defined by anti-aristocrat political rhetoric will naturally profess disgust for, say, Ivy League presidential candidates and incumbent congressmen—just as it will loudly claim to despise Duke basketball (and Yankee baseball and Cowboy football and ... you get the point). In short, purporting to abhor inequality, advantage and dynasty has long been as red-bloodedly patriotic as loving mom, adoring apple pie, and, yes, booing teams like the Blue Devils—teams that seem to wear their privilege on their jerseys. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/these_devils_wear_privilege_20100401/

[OHdem10]

1. Class envy.seeps into everything.

[burning rain]

2. There are different things in play here.

The US is addled with conservative and Calvinist thinking--that wealth is itself a sign of merit, lack of wealth a sign of moral deficiency--we must worship the rich and let them have everything their own way. Property is the highest value and it must not be infringed upon. At the same time, there's vast resentment of the overdogs--and this populist impulse must find an outlet. The compromise appears to be that you can safely harangue Hollywood--true, they're rich, but liberal and unAmerican, so you can safely rant about them--much the same with top universities. But at the same time, the culture of plutocracy requires that the ranting be empty and the satisfaction cheap. Can't actually do anything about plutocracy--that would upset the whole order.

[supernova]

3. Sad irony is

there are plenty of us "poor as churchmice" folk who have gone to Duke or are about to. Mom finished her BA at Duke in 1960 (started but interrupted by WWII). My former minister is a grad of Duke Divinity School. I'm about to apply for a program there. My sister won, but then later turned down a scholarship to Duke. (She was dumb then, but I have a great grown up niece now. :-) )

Duke is very wealthy as an institution, true. But not everyone who goes there is a trust fund baby. I'm sure the same is for a lot of the ivy leagues.

edit: Have to add that in the ACC, it's all about who's on top at the moment as to who earns the biggest scorn. For a while around here UNC was the team everybody loved to hate. (remember Michael Jordan?)

edit2: Duke Athletics used to be a complete joke because Duke is "the NERD school" of the ACC. And Duke football still earns laughs. It's common knowledge around here that if you want to go see a football game, and aren't an alum with season tickets, then Duke as where you want be on fall Saturday afternoons.

[eridani]

4. Does Duke have football?

At least a few basketball powerhouses got that way because they spent most of their athletic money on basketball.