(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The moment that Christian Laettner made the shot that is generally considered the greatest moment in NCAA tournament history, Rob Lowe remembers exactly where he was: At a friend’s house, watching with his friend and his friend’s mom who he believes was likely sipping a Corona with lime.
The friend would later introduce Lowe to his future wife. But in that moment, when Laettner hit the shot, the actor found a different kind of love: Duke basketball and its most famous player.
“I think that probably sealed the deal for me in terms of my appreciation of Duke,” he told For The Win, “and frankly my appreciation of March Madness.”
More than two decades later, Lowe is the executive producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary ‘I hate Christian Laettner,’ which looks back on Laettner’s college career at Duke and the broader question of why fans hate teams so deeply for no reason other than their success. It will air Sunday night.
So what was it about Laettner exactly?
“I kind of attribute it to Christian being a massively talented pretty boy who takes no (expletive) from anyone,” said Lowe, who has played plenty of those characters. “I kind of have a special spot in my heart for people like that.”
That soft spot reflects itself in one of the sections of the documentary dedicated to Laettner’s perceived unfair advantages of wealth, good genetics and private school that includes a cameo from Lowe. As the film and numerous accounts of Laettner report, the wealth part isn’t completely true — he was raised by working class parents in Buffalo. But the good looks, the talent and that hair that seemed like it all gave Laettner the easiest road to success? Well, that part’s true. But as the film asks: Why is that such a hate-able offense?
AP Photo/Amy Sancetta
“I think you know the thing that I think people found so unusual, interesting and one of the things people used to hate on was he didn’t look like a basketball player was ‘supposed to look’. And that scene always gives me a chuckle — how is anyone supposed to look?” said Lowe. “He defied people’s expectations.”
Lowe, best known for his roles on shows like ‘The West Wing’, ‘Parks and Rec’ and ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ among many more credits, has been moonlighting on ESPN projects for years. The idea for this 30 for 30 came from a discussion with the film’s director, Rory Karpf, about why people hate certain teams and players like the Yankees or Duke basketball.
“The whole concept of having people to hate on? We need that in sports, we do. Absolutely. And I don’t think you’re a real sports fan unless you have someone to hate on. The problem is when you beat them and of course, they defy expectations.
“And I think to be that type of a lightning rod for people’s emotions, I think you have to have the … ‘I don’t give a (expletive),'” he said of Laettner. “You have to have that in you to be a lightning rod for people’s emotions in that way.”
There’s been dozens of villains and heroes in hoops since Laettner’s era at Duke, but without question he’s still despised and hated by fans all around the world. What Lowe said he found while working with him on the documentary was the surprising amount of hatred that still materialized towards Laettner, especially every March when the tournament begins. It’s also something that, with the changes in college basketball, may never be replicated.
“The one-and-done era has so changed college basketball and not in a good way. One of the things that’s gone forever is that personal connection that you get to a player that is not on a team that you root for,” he said. “If you only get to see a guy play your team twice in a season, you can’t really hate on them.
“It takes awhile to build the kind of relationships that inspire that kind of emotions and you can’t do that in a one-and-done era.”
