Love or hate him, Vitale embodies college hoops

During the ESPN broadcast of North Carolina’s victory against Maryland, viewers across the nation might have reached for the mute button.

The ones that didn’t had to brace themselves for the ramblings of a 65-year-old bald man whose name has become synonymous with college basketball.

The man who has been known to spout such phrases as:

Everybody loves Raymond! Look at that kid dish the rock, he is a real PTP’er!

Check out diaper dandy Marvin Williams! That kid is going to be someone special, baby!

The always-enthusiastic Dick Vitale was in Chapel Hill this weekend, but many fans were glad to see him leave.

His style is often abrasive and annoying, and the schtick gets old fast, baby.

Vitale’s web site features a dictionary to decipher his myriad of phrases. For example: “Dipsy-doo Dunk-a-roo: flashy slam dunk.”

Another section is reserved for Vitale’s teams such as the All-Alcatraz Team, for players poised to have breakout seasons.

But the insanity doesn’t stop there.

Vitale is also a columnist for ESPN.com and Basketball Times, among other publications. His writing style maddeningly mimics his broadcasting. He even punctuates his sentences with “baby!”

But worse than all of that, he’s a Duke fan.

UNC backers have a special dislike for Vitale, often referring to him as “Dookie V,” which evokes the broadcaster’s love of that Gothic wonderland down the road.

Even when Vitale is broadcasting non-Duke games he will drop in Blue Devil praise that makes any UNC fan sick. Even marginal players such as former point guard Steve Wojciechowski, are lauded for such characteristics as slapping the floor on defense.

And Vitale loves the Cameron Crazies, the inane student section that has brought us such brilliant jokes as dressing up like Wizard of Oz character’s for Roy Williams’ visit to Durham last year. (Get it? You’re not in Kansas anymore, ha ha ha.)

Vitale reserves his highest praise, of course, for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski — a mortal sin in the eyes of any Tar Heel. Many students now even sport T-shirts that depict Vitale in bed with Coach K.

But the reality is that Vitale isn’t just pro-Duke, he’s pro-everything. If you listen to him this year, he’s fawning over UNC the way that he used to swoon over the Dookies in their heyday.

He’s already picked the Tar Heels to win it all this year, and don’t forget that Vitale calls Dean Smith “The Michaelangelo of college basketball.”

And it’s not just UNC and Duke — it’s everyone. The man loves college basketball and everything about it. Every year in early March he sings the praises of so many teams, it seems like he picks 100 schools for the NCAA Tournament.

He is enthusiastic about everything basketball, and outside of the gym he is just as hyped about his numerous charitable causes.

He raises thousands for the Boys and Girls Clubs, and personally gives the organization five college scholarships a year.

But Vitale does his most famous charity work on the board of The V Foundation, named for former N.C. State coach Jim Valvano. The foundation has raised millions for cancer research since its inception in 1993.

So next time you want to kill Dickie V. because he just called Sean Dockery one of the top point guards in the country, just relax, put the TV on mute and remember all of the good work he does.

Because that’s awesome, baby.

Contact Daniel Malloy at dpmalloy@email.unc.edu.