"They are blessed who are persecuted for doing good,

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

People will insult you and hurt you.

They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you

because you follow me. But when they do, you will be blessed.

Rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward

waiting for you in heaven...(Mt 5:10-12).”

I have not blogged for quite some time.  Obviously the world has not exactly been clamoring for me to write and post more of my assorted observations and random thoughts.  In fact, I've averaged just about one blog post per year since I started...and now two of them are about March Madness.

This entry isn't too terribly far from the previous NCAA Basketball Tournament musing I did a few years ago.  Thematically it holds many similarities.  I like Duke...to win it all...every year...no matter what.  

I am well aware such a proclamation may prompt people to stop reading this blog entirely.  I am also aware it may endear this post (and this post-er) to other people.  When it comes to Duke, there isn't too much of an in-between.  

Before we go on, perhaps a little glimpse into my Duke-loving background is in order.

My affection for Duke began when I first saw this:

...which looked quite similar to this:

To a pudgy Batman fanatic, the attraction/connection was instantaneous.

After that, I saw the Devils play on TV in 1976 -- USA's Bicentennial year -- and the team added red to their traditional blue and white school colored uniforms to honor America.  I am admittedly a sucker for all things USA, so that + the Batman-looking mascot moved Duke high on the list of favorite college basketball teams in my 7-year-old mind.

I casually followed how Duke did for the next decade...still holding fast to my childhood reasons for rooting.  In 1986, Duke lost in the National Championship game.  I vividly recall how crushing the defeat seemed to the players...and yet, how they conducted themselves with such grace.  I was hooked.

From there I got better acquainted with Coach Krzyzewski and his program.  Of course there were the back-to-back titles in '91 and '92, I had brief run-ins with them during those campaigns (watching them play in person, seeing them practice, etc.).  And I was fortunate enough to be able to take in the 2000-'01 Final Four festivities in Minneapolis.  I liked Duke...more and more.

Mascots and color combinations (full disclosure, royal blue & black IS my favorite) aside, Duke did things well.  In fact, as far as I am concerned, Duke does things right.

Besides being the winningest coach in Men's College basketball history, Coach K. boasts one of the best graduation rates for his players.  Duke's men's basketball team's graduation rate is consistently higher than all other schools.  For most of his tenure, Coach K. had a 100% graduation rate.  Recent early departures to the NBA, etc. have caused that to dip slightly (98% last year), however.

The program doesn't recruit just anyone, either.  Sure, you need to be able to play (Duke often leads the nation in McDonald's All-American players in its roster), but with academic admission standards akin to Ivy League schools, anyone hoping to be a Blue Devil must be a SCHOLAR-athlete as well.  Oh, and personal conduct is highly scrutinized, too.  There haven't be any player-related scandals involving benefits, illegal activities or anything of the sort in Coach K's 3+ decades, either.

Duke wins.

Duke wins the right way.

For that reason, I'm not ashamed to cheer for them...or pick them each year in my brackets.  In the same sense, I have no shame in being ridiculed for my affection for the Dukies, either.  For me, when someone is doing something the right way and doing it with excellence, it is worth aligning myself with regardless of personal consequence.

Before anyone thinks I am ascribing deity status to Coach K. or any spiritual connection with the Duke basketball program, I most certainly am not.

However, a look at the verses above make it easy for me to make a parabolic connection.

If people choose to persecute me for liking Duke, so be it.  They do "good" by any possible definition of the term.  If people want to speak ill of me because I follow the Blue Devils, I'm fine with that, too.  In my opinion, "suffering" for such an upstanding program is a reward, not a punishment.

I feel precisely the same way (although much more adamantly) about my faith.  I am not ashamed to stand up for God's standards and ways of doing things...even if it costs me pain, insult, loss, etc.  Some things are just "right" and they warrant unwavering support and emphatic endorsement.  

I like Duke...to win it all...every year...no matter what.   I choose Christ...to be my all...every way...no matter what.