Right, 1999 was right after their monsterous 3 year run...I wonder if Duke would be #1 now.

Okay...you do have a good point.

Georgetown? More fans nationally than UK hard to believe.

Right, 1999 was right after their monsterous 3 year run...I wonder if Duke would be #1 now.

 

Duke may sell a lot of merchandise, but I doubt their fanbase (in terms of total number of fans) is even top 5 in the nation. I see plenty of people wearing duke shorts, etc. that also wear UNC, UK, Michigan gear and so on..

They just wanted to see a win, because they're gonna be few and far between from here on out.

 

If you're going to make an attempt to make an insult, make sure someone hasn't already used the same one...

Duke may sell a lot of merchandise, but I doubt their fanbase (in terms of total number of fans) is even top 5 in the nation. I see plenty of people wearing duke shorts, etc. that also wear UNC, UK, Michigan gear and so on..

You live in Ashland, I imagine on the east coast, their influence is quite a bit more.

Duke may sell a lot of merchandise, but I doubt their fanbase (in terms of total number of fans) is even top 5 in the nation. I see plenty of people wearing duke shorts, etc. that also wear UNC, UK, Michigan gear and so on..

I don't know any UK fan that would wear anything with Duke on it.:fight:

You live in Ashland, I imagine on the east coast, their influence is quite a bit more.

 

Yes, I live in Ashland, currently, but people do travel. I spent some time in Newport News/Norfolk, VA. area a couple of years ago, not to mention I have traveled all over the East Coast, as far north as Bar Harbor, Maine, and as far south as you can go. I still didn't see the massive number of Duke fans your talking about. I will say there is a large number of Duke alumni in Jersey, probably more of them there than in North Carolina. But I never saw anything to suggest that they have one of the top 5 largest fan bases in the country. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, I dunno. I did manage to find a UK sports bar in Boston though.

I don't know any UK fan that would wear anything with Duke on it.:fight:

 

Come to Central Park in Ashland this summer and play a few pickup games. It seems every major school is represented, however most people there are truely UK fans. UK doens't market their program very well, making it easy to buy other schools merchandise whether they're your favorite team or not. For instance, UK markets two pairs of shorts each season, a blue pair and a white pair. But I need more than two pairs of gym shorts, so what do I do, I buy (insert team name here)'s shorts along with a couple pairs of UK shorts.

Yes, I live in Ashland, currently, but people do travel. I spent some time in Newport News/Norfolk, VA. area a couple of years ago, not to mention I have traveled all over the East Coast, as far north as Bar Harbor, Maine, and as far south as you can go. I still didn't see the massive number of Duke fans your talking about. I will say there is a large number of Duke alumni in Jersey, probably more of them there than in North Carolina. But I never saw anything to suggest that they have one of the top 5 largest fan bases in the country. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, I dunno. I did manage to find a UK sports bar in Boston though.

You know, I don't wear Duke stuff everyday, but am an avid fan.

You know, I don't wear Duke stuff everyday, but am an avid fan.

 

That's a shame.. :lol:

UNC has to compete in their own state with Duke, NC State, WF. They have a large fan base, but not even close to UK's. UCLA, no way imo. In some years they have trouble filling their home gym.

We're talking national here.

In the same poll Notre Dame was # 1 in football fan base.

How much this has changed since '99, I don't know. But I'd say not much.

The poll I'm talking about was around 1999. UK was # 1 by quite a distance.

That was right after 3 final fours in a row and a time it was EXCITING to watch them play.

That was right after 3 final fours in a row and a time it was EXCITING to watch them play.

 

Most, not all, UK fans aren't bandwagoners though.. Usually, if your a UK fan, your a UK fan for life.

Not when you are not born and bred here...I mean, there are big UK fans out in the country....but I am sure a lot of those polled in 1999 have moved on to more exciting schools.

Not when you are not born and bred here...I mean, there are big UK fans out in the country....but I am sure a lot of those polled in 1999 have moved on to more exciting schools.

 

UK has large numbers of alumni that move out of the state though, most of which support UK athletics, that doesn't even account for the people who were born here and moved out of state. Think of how many more people have graduated from UK even since 2000 when Duke had their 'run' compared to how many have graduated from Duke. We're comparing a school with a yearly enrollment of 30,000+ to one with 10,000. It makes a difference.

I would say a vast majority of UK grads stay here in KY....with that there is no team in America that gets the exposure that Duke does.