The funny part is that I don’t even know
if this was my favorite time spent in Cameron. Georgia State was my first real
experience. Ohio State, while maybe not as loud, was my first introduction to
the insanity of the Cameron Crazies- including the two nights of tenting.
Maryland had more creative chants.- “McDonald’s” for their god-awful warm-ups, “USA”
for Alex Len, and of course, the classic, “Not Our Rivals.”* And I had way
better seats at NC State game.* From the second row, I was close enough to get Rodney
Purvis’ attention with a little “You nervous, Purvis?” yell.
But
none of that is quite Duke vs. UNC. Imagine being so squished that the two
people next to you could literally just hold you up. Personal space? It’s not a
thing when you’re a Cameron Crazy at a UNC game. And it’s loud. Imagine being
able to yell and not hear yourself. It’s you and your group of friends, surrounded
by this girl who was in your Econ class, and her group of friends, and then
that kid you met during O-Week and his group of friends. But at that point it
doesn’t even matter if you know them. You’re all part of the same initiative.
The same goal. Nobody wants anything more than a Duke win at that moment in
time. Cameron Crazies are a collection of individuals made one.
Oh,
and that’s an hour and a half before tip off. When those Tarheels walks in for shoot
around an hour before the game even starts, they’re already facing the hostile
environment where a missed warm-up jumper can already yield “Airball” chants
and a huddle is drowned out by the Crazies’ favorite “Go to Hell Carolina, Go
to Hell, Eat Shit!” Those players have no doubt about what they’re going to
face for rest of the evening.
As
the stadium packs in for the hardest tickets in sports (try grabbing one for
less than a $1000,) people love to take videos and pictures of the Crazies. I
noticed that when Rob Lowe (whose son goes to Duke) asked us to get “crazy” for
a picture.* I’m not going to lie, a good deal of all of the face paint, the
excitement, the signs is for the benefit of ESPN. Half these girls* couldn’t
name a player on UNC save McAdoo (and perhaps not even him.) But does it really
matter? Passion is passion, whether that’s for five seconds of national
television fame, or for Mason Plumlee to posterize that overrated McDonald’s
All-American.
The
saga really starts when the first settlers of Krzyzewskiville settle the lawn
outside Cameron. It can happen anywhere from 5 weeks to 8 weeks in advance
depending on the date of the UNC game. Per the standardized rules, the next
batch of tents sprout 4 weeks in advance, then 2 weeks, followed by the walkup
line. Sleeping out isn’t nearly as bad as advertised, covered by tarps and
tents, as well as snuggling with your compatriots. It’s basically a poor man’s
pledging, except you’re joining the Cameron Crazies. Spending a ridiculous
percentage of waking hours in a tent becomes the norm and cold is just a way of
life. I can’t quite explain the insanity, but I can tell you, I don’t know a single
person who regrets it in the least. (Check out my sketch comedy group's take on tenting below)
Then
the night before the game, Coach Krzyzewski,
speaks to all the tenters. Now let me tell you something about Coach K. Coach K
could have done anything he wanted in life, and he would have been successful.
That’s just who he is. Number one on that list of other options- stand-up
comedian. He’s actually hilarious.* He made jokes about his weight, compared
Seth Curry to A.I (for his lack of practice participation) and joked about the
illicit activities of college co-eds.
At
one point he motioned to Quinn Cook because he wanted his starting point guard
to help him present gold medals to his assistant coaches, and he says something
to the affect of ‘You, come here and take this.’ Coach K then turns to the
crowd. “I always forget his name… But I’ll never forget that I love you.
(Hugs Cook as another pause ensues) Just don’t turn the damn thing over.” (Just to note, Quinn Cook
started the game by turning the ball over multiple times. It’s possible that
this was a form of revenge.)
Okay, honestly, I’d laugh if Coach K told me the ‘Chicken Crossed the Road’ joke,
but still. Think about your favorite teacher. Got him? He (or she) was probably,
intelligent, funny, personable, and actually understood what was important in
life. Now imagine that your teacher had two Olympic gold medals and has the
greatest basketball player alive coming to him for advice. That’s Coach K in a
nutshell.
The
reason I mention the Coach K talk is because of what he says about the Cameron
Crazies. He puts us in the same boat as the team. Now, for all the player
comments on how amazing the crowd is, I doubt for one second that they place us
on the same level as they do themselves. Hell, I doubt even Coach K believes
it. But he sure knows how to make us feel like part of the team. One quote
always flashes across the Jumbotron before games, right before the highlight
tape, where Coach K says that the greatest accomplishment of all is the one
that you could not accomplish alone. As a fan, you’re bigger than just
yourself. You’re committed to some idealistic team. A lot of people
say “we” when they speak about their favorite team, and sometimes there’s a
debate about whether that’s appropriate. When you’re a Cameron Crazie, Coach K
lets you know that you’re supposed to say 'we'.
Of course, none of this matters unless we win the game. I
can honestly tell you that I don’t get nervous when playing sports. I don’t get
butterflies because so much of it is just instinctive. But I had butterflies
for the players that day. An UNC win would have been heartbreaking for the
damage it would do psychologically and seed wise for Duke. We needed a win. We
needed to defend “Our House”* and keep up pace with Miami. The student section
was on edge. I have never felt a clock move slower, and I’ve taken a whole lot
of boring classes.
But once the game started? Incredible. Every shot, every pass, every dribble, it’s all
amplified. It all blends together it two hours of ecstasy. This is what players
(and perhaps a too high percentage of students) come to Duke for- this very
game. It’s worth every moment spent out in the cold. In fact, it might be
worth it for just that reason. You might think after a month and a half spent
outside in a tent, the Crazies would be tired. But it’s the exact opposite. All
that pent-up energy and anticipation is unleashed for the entirety of the game.
All that bonding come to fruition. It’s so loud that
there’s never a moment where you can have a normal conversation with the kid
next to you, except for when a Blue Devil is taking a free throw, and talking during those moments will only elicit glares.
You put all this together, and even Rodney Hood, the supremely
talented basketball star-in-waiting (and still ineligible transfer from
Mississippi State) gets excited. Keep in mind this is a normally mild-mannered
individual who often looks bored during games.* He claimed he “went a little crazy and did some things which are out of
my character, but I did it because I was so into the game.” So he probably
jumped a couple of times, perhaps clapped. That’s the kind of thing this game
can do to you.
There
are two plays that get any building rocking. A dunk (even more so an alley oop)
and a three. When we were down, it was loud, but in terms of Cameron, the crowd
was half-asleep. And then in second half, Duke finally started hitting threes.
Bucket after bucket, three after three. And that’s when the magic happened.
Adrenaline rushing, you forget you’ve been standing up for about five or six
hours; that you’ve lived in a tent for about five weeks basically just to lose
your voice and the feeling in your legs.
And
when we won? That 73-68 scoreline was pure happiness. Nothing can take away that moment. My phone died
right after taking a picture of that final scoreboard (and I lost my friends a few times during the celebrations). But who cares? The Blue
Devils still can’t defend penetration, they can’t outscore every opponent without Ryan
Kelly, and our defensive rebounding is terrible with or without our currently injured and future savior. Right now,
we’re a 2 seed at best. I’m also pretty sure I didn’t get on ESPN, which is kind
of a bummer. But for that moment of victory, none of that mattered. Not the past
losses to NC State or Miami, not the near mishap that day, not the future
possibility of more losses (soon to come to fruition at College Park.) Did I
even mention that we get to burn a bench after the game? With actual fire?
Imagine complete euphoria. And just forget about that 8:30 class the next day.
Footnotes (as denoted by *)
1- C’mon Terps.
You want to claim us as your rivals and you’re celebrating spending a couple of
days sleeping outside the Comcast Center? Try a few weeks and then we’ll talk.
2- Look for a
post on that “How’s Your Grandma?” chant tomorrow
3- Of course we obliged. The guy’s a comical genius. Picture is from his Twitter feed. Or mine because I retweeted him. (Follow me @theargonfactor)
5- Quote
from Coach K about LeBron James- “He is a massive
human being. And a gifted athlete. Those guys all have tattoos like crazy,”
Krzyzewski said. “In one light moment, he had his shirt off in the locker room,
and I said, ‘chosen one?’ And he said ‘yep.’ And I said, ‘I think I’m going to
get one of those.’”
6- One of my personal favorite chants considering we’ve been
able to do it at every home game this year
7- First image result for "Rodney Hood excited"I kid you not.
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