The crowd at Greensboro

[Olympic Fan]

This has come up in other threads, but I think it's an issue we should talk about -- Duke and UNC playing in the same building for the first two rounds (and, yes, I agree -- these are the first two rounds, not the second and third under the new nomenclature) of the NCAA Tournanment.

I realize that some Duke fans don't like that scenario, based on the nightmare of 2005 in Charlotte. Yes, that was an awful situation as a few dozen obnoxious Tar Heel fans heckled the team during practice, a large minority of fans for our first round game pulled for Delaware State and thousands stayed to turn our second-round game into Mississippi State into a road game.

But I would argue that those were special circumstances, a unique situation that will not -- and more importantly HAS NOT -- been repeated. I do not think it will be repeated this week in Greenbsoro. Anyone who was in Greensboro in 2009 -- when Duke and UNC both played first round games there -- or in Charlotte in 2011 (again, both Duke and UNC there) know that there was no special problem. There were a few UNC hecklers and a small pocket of UNC fans who stayed to cheer for our opponents ... but there were at least as many Duke fans in both places who heckled UNC and stayed to cheer for their opponents.

I suspect that will be the case in Greensboro this week -- if not, then Duke fans have only themselves to blame. I know that as of this time last week, more than 8,000 unsold tickets remained and several of us have been urging Duke fans to buy them to make sure we have a fair share of the crowd. Don't know the current situation, but I think there are still tickets to be had. Buy them, cheer for Duke and get there early to pull against UNC.

As for Charlotte in 2005, I repeat that was a fluke. What happened is the UNC and Wake were the ACC's two to seeds all year -- both finishing ahead of Duke in the regular season race and the pre-tournament polls. Because of that UNC and Wake fans bought up all the tickets that were on public sale. But at the last moment, Wake melted down. Chris Paul nut-punched and got suspended for the ACC Tournament. The Deacs were eliminated early and Duke surprisingly won the title and earned a higher NCAA seed.

But at that point, it was too late to get tickets. Participating teams get a very small allotment (I think it was just 250 tickets in 2005). The Duke ticket people scrambled to get more (other teams often return unsold tickets), but the UNC ticket people were doing the same. I just know that very few Duke fans got in the Charlotte Coliseum that weekend, while UNC fans packed the joint.

I doubt that will be the case this week.

[Verga3]

Let's all meet in Greensboro. Full and single-session tickets are being sold. Jump on this! Coach K views Greensboro as Duke's second home. Come home...

http://www.ticketmaster.com/browse?c...orts_header_l1