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Go, EX-DEACS: WFU fans cheering for players, not teams
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Published: May 14, 2008
The NBA makes it easy, thanks to technology.
For one of its current television commercials promoting the NBA Playoffs, the league just splits the faces of Tim Duncan and Chris Paul right down the middle.
Duncan and Paul combine to represent the face of the NBA, and they are selling the league as well as anyone with their play in the Western Conference semifinal series between the San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Hornets.
Of course, Duncan and Paul are also the face of Wake Forest basketball at this stage of the playoffs.
And that has created an interesting dynamic for those who rooted for Duncan and Paul during their Wake Forest careers but now watch the two battle against each other in the pros. It's not so easy to split allegiances right down the middle. There's no technology that will allow Duncan and Paul to succeed at the same time and both win and move on toward the NBA title.
If you're a Deacons fan, who do you root for? Duncan and the Spurs or Paul and the Hornets?
Lynne Heflin, an administrative assistant to the past three Wake Forest coaches — Dino Gaudio, Paul's coach, Skip Prosser, and Duncan's coach, Dave Odom — has decided that she won't even try to decide.
Her only wish is that this best-of-7 series, which continued with Game 5 last night, goes the distance.
"I just want to make sure it goes seven games," Heflin said yesterday. "That way I figure they've played a lot of games. If one were eliminated immediately, that for me would be hurtful because I think they are both such great players, and I think so much of both of them."
Heflin had a similar feeling when Paul and the Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks, with Josh Howard, in the first round. So she has mastered the art of cheering for players but not teams at this point.
"It is possible," she said. "I enjoy watching the games but I don't root for either team. I just couldn't root for one over the other. It's like a mother trying to decide which child to root for when they play each other in football or whatever. They have the shirt with one color on one side, or they sit half of the game on one side and go to the other side at halftime. I understand that completely now. It's just that I can't root for one not to win."
Cook Griffin, the executive director of the Deacon Club, has tried to take a similar approach.
"It's tough, because we think the world of them, not only as former Wake Forest players but as friends and people we know," Griffin said. "I want both of them to do well. When Timmy makes a good inside move, I jump off the couch. And then Chris takes it back down the other end and does a 360 spin move and I yelp and holler. So I really struggle with which team to pull for. Obviously we pull for both guys."
Griffin and Heflin are two of a relative few in the athletics department who have been at Wake Forest through the Duncan and Paul eras, and got to know and admire both players. Obviously, Gaudio, who coached Paul and also coached David West when he and Prosser were at Xavier, has more of a soft spot in his heart for the Hornets. And those from the Odom era, and those who have been following Duncan's NBA career for the past 10 seasons, have more of a soft spot for the Spurs.
Another who has been at Wake Forest through both eras and dealt with Duncan and Paul is Craig Zakrzewski, the men's basketball equipment manager.
"It's great," Zakrzewski said. "It's great television for me and all fans of Wake Forest, for sure. I think the unfortunate part is, I wish they would have met in the next round, or later in the playoffs, because unfortunately one has to go home. But the good thing is, it's a win-win situation. You can't go wrong because you know one of them's going on. But it's kind of a shame that one has to go out after this round. It's been kind of mixed emotions. You're happy for both of them and you'll be sad for one of them."
Zakrzewski points out that the Spurs have won four NBA titles under Duncan, and there might be a tendency for some to wish the same kind of success for Paul.
"You can always fall back on Timmy has won four championships already and let's see if Chris can get his," Zakrzewski said. "Both of them have meant so much to Wake Forest and been such a part of our success, I try not to pull for one or the other. But it might be easier to see Chris win.
"I think the thing that stands out to me is, when Timmy left here, he was hands-down No. 1. You knew he'd be a superstar. Chris, even though he was drafted high at the time, I don't know if it was taken for granted that he would be playing like this. If you saw them on the street, you would know about Tim. But you wouldn't think of Chris as an NBA player. So to see how far he's gone in three years is pretty amazing, and that's been fun to follow."
It's natural, of course, for any fan to have a favorite. When any game is being played, sports fans are going to inherently choose somebody to root for. And there are striking contrasts between Duncan and Paul, for those who take sides. Duncan stayed all four years and graduated from Wake Forest. Paul left Wake Forest after two years to play in the NBA. That's reason for some to root for Duncan more. But Paul grew up here and has been far more active in supporting the university and the community since leaving than Duncan. That's reason for some to root for Paul. And clearly, the two have far different personalities, and that's reason to root for either.
But to Heflin, that's even more reason not to pick favorites.
"It's a little difficult for me to hear about Tim and how people describe him," Heflin said. "He's a very private person but people who know him and have known him know he is a really funny, clever, bright person. He is very personable but he doesn't always let everyone in on it. And then Chris is so charismatic. How could you not like Chris Paul? He's a wonderkid, he really is. He's just as sweet as they come but then when he crosses the line, he takes no prisoner. I don't know anybody that can be really good and not have that mentality. But that's what Tim does, too. He just doesn't emote it the same way.
"They both hate to lose, I'll tell you that. And that's why I don't want to see either of them lose."
John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.
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