How a new generation of Kentucky basketball fans learned to hate Duke, Christian Laettner

A new generation of Kentucky basketball fans learned to hate Christian Laettner.

Kentucky basketball fans have hated Christian Laettner since he hit the game-winning shot in 1992 to lead the Duke Blue Devils to the Final Four and send the Wildcats home.

It’s not just Kentucky basketball fans who have a deep hatred for Laettner, one of the best college basketball players of all time, but all of the college basketball community has a long history of disdain for the Duke product.

And that extends to a whole new generation of Kentucky and college basketball fans who saw the replay of the Duke-Kentucky Elite 8 matchup from 1992 on CBS on Sunday afternoon. Without the NCAA Tournament taking place this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, CBS replayed some classic March Madness games and allowed first-time viewers a chance to have their heartbroken just like it was 1992 all over again.

There was a movement by Kentucky Sports Radio’s Drew Franklin to make parents watch the game with their kids and not tell them the outcome of the game. Basically, watch it as if it was a game happening right now and no one knows about the heart-breaking ending. It’s like watching Game of Thrones and forgetting about the terrible ending and having your heart shatter into a million little pieces when you arrive at the final scene.

"Your kid needs to cry during today’s replay of the 1992 UK-Duke game. They just do. I don’t write these rules, this is real life stuff. Your kid needs to have their heart torn apart by Christian Laettner just like you had your heart torn apart by Christian Laettner."

Now, it may sound weird and cruel to make your kids want to cry, but it’s a lesson in real life that things don’t always go your way and you have to deal with heartbreak. Plus, it’s how you respond to these moments that make champions. But also, it’s important for the youth of America to learn at an early age that you have to hate Duke.

And they definitely got a lesson. Check out some of the videos of little Kentucky basketball fans reacting to the Laettner game-winning shot that scarred Wildcats fans for years.

https://twitter.com/HoHighlights/status/1242176619839619079?s=20

https://twitter.com/lebristow/status/1241491054152626177?s=20

This game took me back to when I was a youth watching the game live. I was older than some of the youngsters featured in the videos above, but I was young enough that I was struggling to keep my eyes open late at night with the game seemingly taking forever. I learned then just how long the last two minutes of a basketball game can take.

Before Mr. Sandman could come and bring me a dream, I managed to stay half-awake to see Laettner take the football pass from Grant Hill, and it’s still shocking to see him without a defender in front of him, and Laettner turning around and drilling the shot at the top of the key.

I was young in my college basketball fandom then, but I was rooting for Kentucky and Jamal Mashburn to win. I knew then that liking Duke was not the cool thing to do. It was my first experience dealing with heartbreak as a sports fan. But I wasn’t a die-hard Kentucky basketball fan then. I just didn’t want Duke to win.

So for these youngsters who learned the history of the Laettner shot and why Kentucky (and everyone) hates him, rest assured you are joining a big community who are here to lift you up in these trying times.

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