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A Fun, Sweet Story About A Duke-Hating Granny

Funny how this dynamic worked

Stanford Cardinal v Duke Blue Devils
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 21: Mike Dunleavy #34 of the Duke Blue Devils looks on during the game against the Stanford Cardinals on December 21, 2000 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. 
Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

This is a pretty cool story about a grandaughter who loves Duke and her grandmother who really, really didn't care for Duke.

They exchanged poems and teased each other for years. The grandmother, Audrey Versteeg, lived in South Dakota and her granddaughter, Tremaine, in Iowa and the letters went back and forth for several years.

Apparently the grandmother, like the mother of one member of the 1988 team, didn't care for the Duke mascot and couldn’t understand why anyone would have a Devil as their mascot.

Aside from that, she found Duke’s confidence overweening and arrogant and lived to see the Blue Devils lose.

Hey, we all have our character flaws. She sounds like a great grandmother despite it.

Funnily enough though, Duke basketball became a bond for the two. The granddaughter at one point sent a set of blue and white roses and signed it from Coach K.

It’s a sweet story, nothing huge or important, and it shows the phenomenal reach of Duke basketball.