A Sentiment Shared By Many... "I Hate Christian Laettner"

I Hate Christian Laettner (2015)

Starring Christian Laettner, And Everyone Who Hate(s)/(ed) Him

The Story:

There are 2 types of College Basketball fans: those that go to Duke University, and those that hate everything about Duke University. Just as they were becoming a decent basketball team and Mike Krzyzewski was about to become THE coach of legend, there came a good looking, talented white player with a bit of an attitude named Christian Laettner.

He became the poster child of Duke, and he became the reason the entire basketball universe hated Duke especially, and Laettner specifically.

While I don't follow NCAA Basketball much anymore, back then, I tuned in with great enthusiasm to watch March Madness as the teams played their hearts out, and 63 teams left with shattered dreams, broken egos and puddles of tears flowing on the hardwood.

I, much like everyone else outside of Duke, didn't really care for Christian Laettner.  There was just something about him that rubs you the wrong way.

You can't quite put your finger on it, but it's just there.

When that spoiled brat joined the original Olympic Dream Team?  Hoooo Boy... I still remember how angry that made me.  Clyde Drexler had just barely made the team, and they hand a spot to this Golden Boy from college?  Grrr....

So when I saw this title on Netflix, it made me chuckle and think back 2 decades earlier and I thought, yeah, I sure did.

So did ESPN deliver on their latest installment in the exceptional 30 for 30 franchise?  Absolutely.

The best part, Laettner is at the center of this documentary, and he takes it all in stride.  He knows he was hated.  He knows he's STILL hated, and I think secretly, he loves it.

He may not have racked up a Hall of Fame career in the NBA, thanks mostly to being stuck on lousy teams moreso than anything he did or did not do personally, his college stats reveal a shocking truth:

Christian Laettner is, was, and will likely always be, the greatest college basketball player.

Ever.

Period.

Beginning and end of argument.

There's really nobody else even close to the caliber of what he did with his team in the annals of college basketball before, during or since his time on the court.

Yes people, we witnessed history, and loved booing every minute of it.

Laettner?  He soaked it up like any good villain does, and simply did his job.

By the end of the documentary, you make still hate Christian Laettner, but that hatred may be toned down just a tad.

Maybe.

: )

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+