Longtime UNC Basketball Coach Dean Smith lives a long and healthy life, saddened only in that his rival and friend Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s death preceded his, since Coach K was so much younger. Coach Smith finally passes in his sleep, surrounded by his loved ones, and is getting the tour of Heaven from Saint Peter. Since Dean did so many good deeds and passed along his knowledge and work ethic to the likes of NBA Greats Michael Jordan and Vince Carter, St. Peter showed Dean the gated community where the elite angels lived. Dean was quite pleased with his eternal home, two-story brick, garage, gabled roof, spacious, landscaped, well-equipped kitchen, nice lap pool in the back, on a quiet cul-de-sac. St. Peter had even had the builders place a pale blue UNC flag on the stoop, to show the neighborhood who lived there.
Dean was very very happy with this home, until he turned and saw up on a hill an absolutely magnificent mansion, four stories tall, two wings with helicopter pads on the roof, classic racing cars in the 7 car detached garage, and doormen, footmen, gardeners, and maids flitting about dutifully doing their chores, and resplendent in Duke Blue uniforms. There were four towers at the four corners of the mansion, with Duke flags flying, and in the back was a huge indoor basketball arena with games being played all day long.
Dean asked St. Peter, “Now I don’t mean to be ungrateful, my home really is very nice, but why did Mike Krzyzewski get such a palacial estate? I had more players in the NBA, and I broke through racial barriers with my teams, and, I mean, I trained MJ!”
St. Peter looked confused a second, then smiled broadly. “Oh, I see, no, no, no, Coach. That is God’s place.”
(Replace Dean Smith and Coach K with any two rivals, same joke.)