The Omen

[Kedsy]

We were looking for omens. It's a long drive from Philadelphia to Indianapolis, and on Friday, April 2, we were unsure what the weekend would bring. We crossed Pennsylvania without seeing anything unusual, and left West Virginia in the dust (which felt good). Soon after that, however, the psychic vibes became evident.

Two trucks vied for supremacy in the right and middle lanes, the one with "Baylor" scrawled across its side moving confidently ahead of the one reading "Old Dominion." An RV with "Georgetown" written in large letters seemed to be stuck in first gear as little compact cars with Ohio licence plates raced past it.

And then we saw it. A towering pole with a sign in the shape of a crown, and a single word etched inside. And suddenly all our doubts evaporated into the Ohio air. We knew who the champion would be. And all seemed right with the world.

[Jderf]

Hope the people working at that subway are better than the kids at the one on campus.

[anon]

Hope the people working at that subway are better than the kids at the one on campus.

Quite relevant.

[kmmk]

What a great story. Thanks for sharing. It's so funny how omens work sometimes.

I like that not only did you see a Duke sign, but you saw one inside of a crown. Very fitting.

Kelly

[BlueHeaven]

Do the players and Coach K realize how superstitious we all are?

[Starter]

I wore the same "West 4th Street -- The Cage" hat I wore in 2001. I'm not superstitious, but, you know, it can't hurt.

Also, I sat next to a guy named John, Class of 1996, in a bar in NYC. Not a Duke bar, just a quiet bar. We ended up calling him The Oracle. Before that Hayward shot -- not the halfcourt one that almost killed us, the fallaway from the baseline that, uh, almost killed us -- The Oracle turned to me and my friend and said assuredly, "Hayward's going to drive, put up a shot, Zoubek's going to rebound it and get fouled." I realize there was a high probability of exactly that happening, but still... The Oracle was born.

[alteran]

I have this friend who really got on my nerves this year when he tweaked my superstitions.

Before two games this year (that he really wanted Duke to lose) he sent me "Pre-Congratulations" emails. I went nuts both times.

Once before the Duke UNC game at Cameron. Once before Butler.



I told myself when he sent the Butler one I was going to read him the riot act after the game, but... now I think it's a GOOD omen!