coach k
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Eric Church is choosing the Final Four over his job and we can’t really blame him.

There are only three groups of people who will be rooting for Duke and Mike Krzyzewski in the Final Four this weekend — Duke fans, Coach K’s family, and Eric Church fans.

The country music star is canceling a sold-out show in San Antonio, TX so he can go to cheer on his beloved North Carolina Tar Heels in New Orleans, LA.

“This Saturday, my family and I are going to stand together and cheer on the Tar Heels as the team has made it to the Final Four,” Church said in a message to ticketholders.

“As a lifelong Carolina basketball fan, I’ve watched Carolina and Duke battle over the years,” Church said. “But to have them matchup in the Final Four for the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament is any sports enthusiast’s dream.

“This is also the most selfish thing I’ve ever asked the Choir to do: to give up your Saturday night plans with us so that I can have this moment with my family and sports community.”

Honestly, it’s hard to blame Church for skipping work to see Carolina-Duke. I would skip anything for the chance to see the Jets in the Super Bowl — weddings, births, funerals, sentencing hearings. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Take it.

Lumping his family into the equation was a nice touch, too. How could his fans be mad at him for going to spend quality time with his family?

There are a handful of his fans on Twitter that seem to understand his decision, but there are a lot of angry Eric Church fans out there right now.

Jilted Eric Church fans are joining Duke/Notre Dame/Yankees/Lakers/Cowboys fans this weekend in rooting for Coach K against his arch-nemesis. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is hoping that we get to see Coach K end his career like the sore loser he always has been.

I couldn’t tell you one Eric Church song, but I’ll have to check him out on Spotify for pregame listening on Saturday.

NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.