Are you pulling for UNC or Duke in the Final 4?

[CreamyGoodness]

Duke.

Would be worse for Wake if Hubert keeps winning.

 

[Say Hey Deac]

Feel like a UNC Natty would be worse for WF in the long-run, but most of the damage has already been done with UNC's run to the Final 4. Four weeks ago, there was a solid argument that WF would get a better NCAA seed than UNC (and a reasonable argument that WF basketball was in a better place as a program than UNC). In an eye-blink, WF played itself out of the tournament, and UNC made another Final 4 run. Got to be kidding me.

I think a UNC title would probably feel worse to me just because we killed them and then didn't even make the tournament. That said, I'll be pulling for UNC to beat Duke because I think that would be fucking HILARIOUS for Coach K to go out with 2 straight absolutely demoralizing losses to UNC.

As far as what hurts us worse in the long run, I don't think either Duke or UNC winning it all really makes a material difference as to the fate of Wake Forest, because they are already so far ahead of us. Like, UNC wakes up in the morning and falls out of bed and makes the Final 4. This is their 2nd Final Four as an 8-seed since I went to college, which is 1 more time than Wake has even been to the Sweet 16 in that same time period. I love the Deacs, but comparing ourselves to Duke or UNC is an absurd waste of time. So, as far as damage to our program, we're already fucked and until Forbes finds and kills God, we're gonna continue to be fucked.

 

[Sirdeacsalot]

Neither

 

[74 plug]

My go to answer when these 2 teams play each other is roof collapse. Failing that, I could go with either outcome posed by deacon 14 or Frosty. Whatever causes the maximum mental anguish.

 

[greekdeac2011]

I'm not sure how anyone here would want to root for Duke to win and the potential for K to go out on top. The slob fest that would ensue would be too much to handle

 

[DeacDaddy]

My go to, besides a sink hole opening up under the arena, is whichever result maximizes the total amount of pain felt by the losing fanbase. In this case, UNC beating the absolute shit out of Duke is the winner for me.

Duke fans having to live with the fact that their God emperor got skull fucked by Hubie and holes not only in K's last game in Cameron but in the Final Four is too good to pass up. UNC fans can hang that over Duke's head forever; doesn't affect us.

I'd also throw in that UNC is the more likely team to barf on itself in the championship, imo.

This is compelling and may change my mind. But either way I cannot stand that I even have to have an opinion on this. These two teams were supposed to fade away around the Sweet 16 mark, according to my brackets.

 

[wsc8521s]

I also need to add that getting Duke out the tournament by any means necessary is absolutely imperative at this point. The risk and consequences of K winning a Natty on his way out the door are far too great. If that happens we will have to hear about it every March from now into eternity. There will be some shitty biopic where Bradley Cooper or some jabroni plays K. I don't chose that future.

Is this right? I dunno -- John Wooden did this but it's just a small component of his legacy, not something you hear about over and over and over again.

Maybe it's different in today's media age but I think you're overstating the degree to which this would be brought up. Hard to believe that any K movie would only be greenlit if this one particular thing happens

 

[DeacDaddy]

I'm not sure how anyone here would want to root for Duke to win and the potential for K to go out on top. The slob fest that would ensue would be too much to handle

Agreed but the consolation is, imagine how that will feel to the Tar Heels for the rest of eternity.

 

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

I want Carolina to win

perhaps easier as I don't live in NC, but I cannot bear a Coach K championship in his final season


I will not be watching

 

[greekdeac2011]

I think a UNC title would probably feel worse to me just because we killed them and then didn't even make the tournament. That said, I'll be pulling for UNC to beat Duke because I think that would be fucking HILARIOUS for Coach K to go out with 2 straight absolutely demoralizing losses to UNC.

As far as what hurts us worse in the long run, I don't think either Duke or UNC winning it all really makes a material difference as to the fate of Wake Forest, because they are already so far ahead of us. Like, UNC wakes up in the morning and falls out of bed and makes the Final 4. This is their 2nd Final Four as an 8-seed since I went to college, which is 1 more time than Wake has even been to the Sweet 16 in that same time period. I love the Deacs, but comparing ourselves to Duke or UNC is an absurd waste of time. So, as far as damage to our program, we're already fucked and until Forbes finds and kills God, we're gonna continue to be fucked.

Yes, this. Wake has been an irrelevant program for over a decade. Credit to Forbes for turning the ship around and having a good season, but Wake still missed the NCAAT. Wake also beat UNC in 2005 and 2009 before UNC won the title. No one cares what happens in January if your team falls apart down the stretch. It's laughable that anyone would believe Wake's program to be ahead of UNC at this juncture. I think the jury is still out on Hubert, but he's done something right to get that team to a Final Four, and it wasn't like they only played slouch opponents either going through the defending national champions and another 2021 FF team in UCLA.

 

[Frosty]

Is this right? I dunno -- John Wooden did this but it's just a small component of his legacy, not something you hear about over and over and over again.

Maybe it's different in today's media age but I think you're overstating the degree to which this would be brought up. Hard to believe that any K movie would only be greenlit if this one particular thing happens

I might be overstating it, for sure. I wasn't alive when Wooden retired so I'm also probably not qualified to speak to this, but I just have a hard time imagining that he enjoyed the same cult of personality and level of hero worship as K.

Maybe this is tempered by the fact that Wooden got to coach Kareem and Walton and their names come up often when discussing the UCLA dynasty. Duke has never had players at that level so I feel like it all lands on K and the mistification of the BrotherhoodTM and Coach Relationships and all of that shit.

 

[Deac1244]

I have a theory. I think that this game will be a knock down drag out fight. All Dukies want to win for their coach and all the Tarheels want is to have the final nail in the Coach K coffin to be a UNC nail.

Both teams will expend copius amounts of energy both menatlly and physically. Whoever wins this game will have very little left in which to play a very good Kansas team on Monday and will probably get beat pretty soundly.

That being said, I don't care who wins. It sucks either way.

 

[EatLeadCommie]

Can't stand the K love, so UNC, reluctantly. Then KU in the final, assuming they don't blow it against Nova.

 

[OblongPickle]

my dad went to Carolina and both parents did grad school at Wake (plus my grandfather and uncle went to Wake) so I'll admit to growing up as a fan of both. but the second I got into Wake any affinity for Carolina went out the door. never would support Duke in anything, ever, so have to prefer the Heels here, not that I'll be cheering for them. FIL went to Duke so wife grew up a Duke fan, which is awful, and I know she'll be cheering for them.

My grandpa is a Duke fan, he passed that on to my mom, and then to me. I grew up one of the biggest Duke fans there was (and I know that will just add to the hatred that certain posters have for me). So my hatred for UNC was ingrained since birth. ALLLLL of my friends and classmates were Carolina fans and they were just obnoxious as hell. I hated it. I'm sad to say now that I even attended a Wake/Duke game at the Joel and sat courtside. It was the best seats I've ever had for a game...in a "Cameron Crazy" shirt.

I applied to Duke and it was my #1 school. Wake was my #2. I went with my grandpa/mom on a campus visit to Wake and that's where my love for Duke started to fade and my love for Wake started growing even more. The campus was just absolutely gorgeous....way better than those gothic monstrosities at Duke. I got wait listed at Duke, but then accepted to Wake. The second I got that letter, I jumped up and down on my bed and my love for Duke just evaporated. I went to Wake and every single ounce of me now bleeds Old Gold and Black. My entire "man cave" is Black and Gold, I have posters and the old tie-dyes hanging on the wall. NCAA/ACC Tournament ticket stubs. 4 different autographed CP3 jerseys. A badass CP3 displate. A huge WF flag on the wall. Everything about me is Wake.

But my grandpa is still a Duke fan. He probably has Wake/Duke 1A/1B in some order. And he paid for my Wake tuition.

He started radiation therapy for brain cancer today, and has metastasized melanoma in his neck, brain, lungs, liver and bone. Unfortunately, he probably won't be around much longer. I watched both of Duke's first weekend games with him a couple weeks ago and it was so great seeing him following along and being aware of the score and storyline just days after brain surgery. He really likes and respects Coach K, as he met him in the early 90s when he was just getting going with the National Championships.

So I'll be pulling for the same team as my grandpa so that one of his "teams" and favorite coaches can go out on top. For perhaps the last tournament he ever gets to see.


*insert Debbie Downer gif here*

 

[DeacDaddy]

My grandpa is a Duke fan, he passed that on to my mom, and then to me. I grew up one of the biggest Duke fans there was (and I know that will just add to the hatred that certain posters have for me). So my hatred for UNC was ingrained since birth. ALLLLL of my friends and classmates were Carolina fans and they were just obnoxious as hell. I hated it. I'm sad to say now that I even attended a Wake/Duke game at the Joel and sat courtside. It was the best seats I've ever had for a game...in a "Cameron Crazy" shirt.

I applied to Duke and it was my #1 school. Wake was my #2. I went with my grandpa/mom on a campus visit to Wake and that's where my love for Duke started to fade and my love for Wake started growing even more. The campus was just absolutely gorgeous....way better than those gothic monstrosities at Duke. I got wait listed at Duke, but then accepted to Wake. The second I got that letter, I jumped up and down on my bed and my love for Duke just evaporated. I went to Wake and every single ounce of me now bleeds Old Gold and Black. My entire "man cave" is Black and Gold, I have posters and the old tie-dyes hanging on the wall. NCAA/ACC Tournament ticket stubs. 4 different autographed CP3 jerseys. A badass CP3 displate. A huge WF flag on the wall. Everything about me is Wake.

But my grandpa is still a Duke fan. He probably has Wake/Duke 1A/1B in some order. And he paid for my Wake tuition.

He started radiation therapy for brain cancer today, and has metastasized melanoma in his neck, brain, lungs, liver and bone. Unfortunately, he probably won't be around much longer. I watched both of Duke's first weekend games with him a couple weeks ago and it was so great seeing him following along and being aware of the score and storyline just days after brain surgery. He really likes and respects Coach K, as he met him in the early 90s when he was just getting going with the National Championships.

So I'll be pulling for the same team as my grandpa so that one of his "teams" and favorite coaches can go out on top. For perhaps the last tournament he ever gets to see.


*insert Debbie Downer gif here*

That’s an awesome story and you’re hereby allowed to be a Cameron Crazy one more time.

 

[PhDeac]

To be clear, the assumption is that we will all cheer very heartily against the winner of the Duke/UNC game in the final.

As heartily as I can root for Kansas I guess.

I'm rooting for massive NCAA sanctions and they decide to bring back Miami vs. St. Peter's for the championship game.

 

[greekdeac2011]

It really is hard to root for Bill Self. I am not even sure how he still has a job.

 

[Pilchard]

It really is hard to root for Bill Self. I am not even sure how he still has a job.

 

[deaconson]

Sanctions. I'm liking this. u*NC gets the devastating win and k goes out on a loss to their arch rival. The ncaa steps in and admits they messed up so no NC game for them. St Pete's P'Cocks are back for the final baby. Can someone bring me a beer and a voodoo doll?

 

[MagicDeac]

I will likely switch back and forth throughout the game depending on which outcome provides the max pain.