Dick Vitale Comes to Murray State

On pretty much any day during basketball season, you can find lots of Kentuckians on various message boards complaining about Dick Vitale and ESPN. Dickie V -- or "Dukie V" as he is often known -- is, according to Kentuckians: (1) a Duke supporter, (2) a UNC supporter, (3) an ACC supporter, (4) an old guy who repeats the same stories over and over, (5) embarrassingly bad, and, of course, (6) unfair to Kentucky and its fans. Most of these complaints are true, and I have made them myself. Over the last few decades, no one in the press has done more to promote Duke and UNC than Vitale -- a campaign that has certainly helped their recruiting and has severely distorted competitive balance in the ACC. And like many Kentucky fans, I am still furious over how he attacked us when Tubby Smith left.

And yet -- and yet -- a few weeks ago, when Murray State was the last undefeated team in America, and ESPN was tracking their every move, the Racer fans started clamoring for Dickie V to come to Murray for their Bracket Buster game against St. Mary's. And when Vitale did come to Murray, he was met by huge crowds and treated like a conquering hero. Even I tuned in to see the Great Man, and I called my dad to celebrate the sight of Vitale in the Purchase.

So, what does this mean? Are we all hypocrites? Are we only upset about special treatment when it seems to work against us? I'm sure that's part of the answer. I also think part of the answer is that Vitale -- for all his foibles -- has always seemed like a genuine lover of college basketball who doesn't have the same type of animus toward Kentuckians as, say, Digger Phelps or Bobby Knight. And, in fact, Murray got the full Vitale performance yesterday -- dancing with the cheerleaders, bragging on the Racers and their fans, earnestly telling us that mid-major teams should get more respect from the NCAA Tournament Committee -- everything that Racer fans could have hoped for.

But I think what's really at work here is the complex relationship between western Kentucky and the national media. On the one hand, we often feel -- with good reason -- that we are not treated fairly by the East Coast types who dominate all forms of media in the United States. On the other hand, we crave the attention and respect that only a national outlet like ESPN can provide. After yesterday's dominant Racer performance -- Murray blasted a very good St. Mary's team 65-51 in a game that was never seriously in doubt -- the national press assured us that Murray has now earned a bid to the NCAA tournament even if the Racers are upset in the OVC Tournament. That's the power of Dick Vitale.

There are lessons here, both for rural America and for the East Coast. On the one hand, the Racers have shown that excellence is rewarded by the national media -- they may love Duke and UNC, but they can't avoid a story as good as Murray's. On the other hand, the tumultuous welcome enjoyed by Vitale shows that rural America longs to be loved, and that if charismatic national figures would pay more attention to Middle America, they would find more supporters than they expect.