Kelly Flagg Is Now On The Mt. Rushmore Of Duke Basketball Parents

You gotta love it. Well, maybe not UNC fans so much.

After the game in Chapel Hill, there were articles saying that the Duke-UNC rivalry was in decline and it’s true that the Tar Heels haven’t held up to their end of the deal lately. Can they do better in the ACC Tournament? If they win their Game 1, we’ll probably see, assuming Duke advances also.

But the idea that this rivalry is going away? It’s not. It didn’t in the early 1960’s when Dean Smith struggled. It didn’t in the 1970’s when Duke was simultaneously trying to move past the glorious and glamorous Vic Bubas era and navigate desegregation as well. It didn't when Matt Doherty ran the UNC program right off the rails. And it won’t now.

True, Hubert Davis hasn’t adjusted well to the new era, but he acknowledges his mistakes and is now playing catchup. And if he can’t figure it out, in a year or two, UNC fans (and more importantly boosters) will run him out of town, open up the checkbook, and look for the next Frank McGuire to revitalize Carolina Basketball and keep up with the Triangle neighbors. If it means not losing to Duke, they’ll hire Will Wade or Chris Beard and toss the whole Smith hagiography overboard. Damn the critics! Full speed ahead! Beat Duke!

Until UNC levels up, fans will carry the rivalry and one of our favorite fans is Ms. Kelly Flagg of Newport, Maine.

She’s been a Duke fan favorite first because her son Cooper is a transcendent talent, and second because, well, she’s a passionate fan. Take her trip to Chapel Hill this past Saturday, where, faced with about 21,750 Tar Heel fans, Flagg endeared herself further to Duke fans by calling them “classless a-holes.”

Well, maybe it’s not right to generalize about 21,750 people, but if you’ve followed Duke Basketball for long, you know the stories, like Mickie Krzyzewski being shoved around after a game. You may even have been silly enough to park a car with a Duke sticker in Chapel Hill. We don’t recommend that.

Here's what Flagg posted after her comments went viral. We cleaned it up mildly for thumbos:

“I also want to apologize to anyone who was offended by my language that was caught in a celebratory moment. I do realize that it wasn’t my best look.

“However, if you actually know me and are a real friend of mine you weren’t shocked.

“It was a very intense situation we were put into and we were taken aback by the crudeness of the UNC fans as we made our way into the arena. They continued to harass us with much worse being spewed in our direction as well as at our 18 year old son and his teammates throughout the entirety of the game. The celebration was a moment of being so proud of our kid and also big F-you to the entire Carolina fan base for being classless a-holes. If you are UNC fan and didn’t like it...tough!

“Better luck next time! Go Duke.”

Who can blame her?

Look, there’s no question that Duke fans go after opponents and, occasionally, fans (looking at you, loud girl from Grand Canyon U). But the fan bases are different.

At Duke, it’s essentially Carnival from October until the season ends. Jim Valvano recognized it. When the Duke fans told him to sit, he sat...on the floor. When they told him to roll over, he laughed. Smart people have fun in Cameron...because it is fun.

Flagg’s account was factually correct and also honest. UNC fans still like to drape themselves in the moral righteousness of Smith - Hubert Davis, like Smith, abstains from cursing - but the reality is they can be a nasty lot. That was Flagg’s experience and she relayed it truthfully, along with her personal feelings about it.

And it’s certainly not like Duke fans are perfect. In general though, while they swerve slightly on occasion, they do keep it between the lines.

Anyway, we found the whole thing hilarious, not least of all because Cooper Flagg’s mom managed to get the UNC fan base to tie their panties in a wad.

As far as Duke fans go, we loved it and most of us, we think, agree with her analysis. She’s one of us, she’s been one of us all year, and now she’s become one of the great Duke moms, up there with Althea Williams. She’d always be a welcome face in Cameron, but after this?

She’s going to get massively cheered any time she shows up in Cameron.