Student/Fan Interaction at Wallace Wade

[MattC09]

As a fairly recent graduate, I still sit with the students because I have several grad student friends. Plus, I want to put as many people in the student section, by hook or by crook, as possible. This year, at least the UVA game, was much better in the student section than in the past. The students were much more into it and there was drive and energy. There seem to be quite a few freshmen who are interested and supportive of the team. There have always been a hardcore group of people there, but the group seems a little bigger and growing now.

Observations:

1. On offense, you should stay quiet. Often times people will start a "Let's Go Duke" chant or otherwise when we're lining up. While there is virtually no crowd noise at present, we don't want to make it more difficult on our guys. Defense is where the noise should come in.

2. A new chant started this year for dropped passes, fumbles, etc: One person yells "No hands!" the rest yell "No future!" The same applies to field goal misses, except with foot in place of hand.

3. There needs to be something for kick-offs(receiving and kicking) for everyone. At other schools, there are typically salty chants after the kick. Ex: "Break his _____ legs!" , "You suck, _____!" , etc.

4. Something for big hits would be awesome. When Walt Canty or someone gets a big tackle, it would be great to have something appropriate.

5. A group of students has taken to chanting "That's another Duke first down! RAWR!" from Panthers games. It drives me insane. If we're going to copy an NFL team, at least make it a decent team with a hardcore fanbase.

6. It doesn't work so well because the stands are so far away, but picking out one of the kick returners and harassing him can be amusing.

7. Students have started singing, fairly quietly, the National Anthem as it's being played. It's infinitely better than having someone trying to ham it up solo.

[uh_no]

First off, I LOVE the air ball chant...i vote for passing plays >30 yards...let it roll!

2. A new chant started this year for dropped passes, fumbles, etc: One person yells "No hands!" the rest yell "No future!" The same applies to field goal misses, except with foot in place of hand.

love it!

5. A group of students has taken to chanting "That's another Duke first down! RAWR!" from Panthers games. It drives me insane. If we're going to copy an NFL team, at least make it a decent team with a hardcore fanbase.

its "thats good for another blue devil...FIRST DOWN", and i believe it's based off the the inflection of a duke announcer of lore, though i don't rightly know the story...that's just what i had heard

7. Students have started singing, fairly quietly, the National Anthem as it's being played. It's infinitely better than having someone trying to ham it up solo.

I would love for this to be a thing

[Jim3k]

Observations:

1. On offense, you should stay quiet. Often times people will start a "Let's Go Duke" chant or otherwise when we're lining up. While there is virtually no crowd noise at present, we don't want to make it more difficult on our guys. Defense is where the noise should come in.

Close, I think. When, on timeout during a drive, I have no problem with a "rip 'em up..." Use it frequently: after a TD...on defense...it's all-purpose.

3. There needs to be something for kick-offs(receiving and kicking) for everyone. At other schools, there are typically salty chants after the kick. Ex: "Break his _____ legs!" , "You suck, _____!" , etc.

Being too salty and cheering for injuries is bad form. Most of the alums are not amused by the "eat s---" modification. It makes us look...well...[insert negative adjective of your choice]. There are very young ears in the stands; it's not just a college-age crowd. And I say that as one who has been there and, regretfully, done that.

4. Something for big hits would be awesome. When Walt Canty or someone gets a big tackle, it would be great to have something appropriate.

Chanting his name works here.

5. A group of students has taken to chanting "That's another Duke first down! RAWR!" from Panthers games. It drives me insane. If we're going to copy an NFL team, at least make it a decent team with a hardcore fanbase.

Not a bad idea in part. Maybe the RAWR can be modified: "One MAWR!" or something similar.

7. Students have started singing, fairly quietly, the National Anthem as it's being played. It's infinitely better than having someone trying to ham it up solo.

Just so long as they don't do that stupid Oriole "O-O-O..."

[bedeviled]

My last post was around '97/98, but I'm here nearly everyday. Really, not much changes through the years...same stories in different forms and cycles. This, however, is a story that I've been tempted to weigh in on numerous times: I have a strong preference for _player-specific_ cheers (think: theme songs) and singing cheers, especially in basketball where personnel and arenas are more intimate. I'll touch on those in my next post after addressing other cheer topics. (I ask that you please forgive my off-the-top-of-my-head examples and these long posts)

Call and response
I agree with previous posters that call-response is usually lame. I'm thinking about one exception for the UNC game, though. The Duke fans could turn to a UNC section for the widely-known "We've got spirit, yes we do. We've got spirit. How 'bout you?" cheer. Hopefully, UNC fans would respond in kind, at which time the next verse goes, ""We've got classes, yes we do. We've got classes. How 'bout you?"

Slow vs fast chant
I agree with previous posters that the pace of chants is out of control. Frenetic chants lack the directed power of a slower "Air-Ball" or "Let's Go Duke." I think I would soil my britches if I were an opponent when Kansas drones the slow part of the Rock-Chalk chant. (Note: I like Devil in the Blue Dresses idea of using Airball, though I would use it when UNC threw an incomplete pass)

Specific chants
"Our House": I just want to put this one on the radar for the future!
"D-D-D-Defense": Well-known, people join in, and has a clearly defined stop point when the play ends. Perhaps an alternating version could be used against UNC to reference grades...something like: "D-D-D-A+" Would people get that?
"Block that kick" is another well-known one that could be altered, like "block that rogue! (repeat)" or "stop that rogue!" if used for non-kicking situations.
For obvious UNC pass plays (hopefully they will have plenty of 3rd and longs!), "Pass, pass, pass. Get a tutor and pass!" or similar....though this may be better as a sign than a cheer.
"You sank my flagship!" when UNC has a failed play.
"Marvin Austin <clap, clap...clap, clap, clap> (repeat)"
Other traditional chants which you could use though I can't offer any alternative verbage right now are "push 'em back, push 'em back, waaaaaaayy back" and "1,2,3,4 [insert something here] 5,6,7,8 [insert something else]." Hopefully you can use these better than I.
Another would be using the Rawhide song, but substituting "bowlin'" instead of "rollin'" Note, I spent much of 2010 chanting to this tune using "Nolan!"

Kick-off
I've got nothin' here. I think the best kick-off cheers are build-ups of monotoned energy, hence keys, "ohhhhhh"s, drumrolls, and jumping. Unfortunately, a relatively full stadium of participation is required. FWIW (though not for kick-off), I think the "Fight, Blue Devils, Fight" cheer would be fantastic with a full stadium as evidenced by some complex cheers at some football schools.

Signs
I haven't seen this mentioned, but this is a good way to get people involved and have fun (it would be nice if Duke Stores made signage material easily accessed and affordable). This is where Duke students make their mark with cleverness that isn't easily incorporated in chants. Signs add an element of fun and activity to the stands.

[bedeviled]

Here's the second part to my post. This is really the part that brought me to come out of lurking. Perhaps my preferences come from my soccer background, but I think singing and player-specific homages a la European soccer clubs is great fun. Singing is joyous and, at least for me, is much less prone to making you feel self-conscious which is often why chants fail. Chanting the same thing over and over allows me too much time to reflect on myself It's easier for me to let loose when singing. I wonder if that's true of others as well. I realize that many may be quite opposed to my preferences.

I am so tired of the "FirstName LastName <clap, clap...clap, clap, clap>" cheer. It belonged to Casey Sanders, Casey Peters, Crazy Towel-guy, UConn Huskies, Let's go Spartans, etc. I see it all the time on tv. I'm bored. I find myself welcoming the slightly different version of "Cutcliffe <clap, clap>" etc. just to mix it up. But, if you are going to cheer for a specific person, why use a generic cheer? It makes sense for spontaneous things or opponents, but not for your own Duke family. The players deserve better. A player-specific cheer is like a theme song...who doesn't want a theme song?!?!

I can't think of many player-specific cheers through the years...Zoooooubs had one, JJ was dynamite, the collective Marty had one, Du-du-du-Duhon (yes, I know there are a few more). Personally, I cheered for Nolan in bars and living rooms using the Rawhide song, substituting "Nolan" for "Rollin'." I sang opera when Singler took stage. Sheyer didn't need any water (I just let that ___ burn!). "Mason had a little slam, little slam, little slam..."

Europeans insert players/teams stories into lots of nursery rhymes. Similarly, the New Jersey Devils use "If you're happy and you know it" (which is a very good audience participation song to use!). Europeans also use popular songs like "Don't ya wish your striker was James Beattie? [style of the I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.cat Dolls]," "Oh-oh, we're halfway there. Woah, Aliadiere! [style of Bon Jovi]" like Luol Deng's "from the window...to Luol."

Speaking of Luol's cheer, it should be noted that students and older fans might not have the same taste in music...which is why nursery rhymes work well (keeping it simple). I'm not sure if student's would know how to sing to Walt Canty using Sammy Davis Jr.'s 'The Candy Man' or even Manilow's 'Mandy' (although there have been covers in more recent movies). Alternatively, older fans will not get a Ross Cockrell tribute in the style of 'You the Boss' by Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj. Nonetheless, once the tune was picked up, it is fun for all. The difficulty is in choosing the tune and changing the lyrics, which it sounds like Native may be prepared to do. Songs should probably be kept simple because they have ephemeral use, but whatever the student's enjoy is fantastic....even "Call Me Maybe."

So, now that everyone has ceased reading these long posts, I will offer the one cheer that I would most like to hear: a cheer for Jela Duncan in the style of Outkast's 'Hey ya.' It's short (repeatable), simple, catchy, and most people have heard the real tune. Another example would be "He's a Duke running back, and you're gonna be in trouble. Jela, Jela, he's our back!"
-- A song with "you want" may be changed to cheer for Juan Thompson. For instance, "Go, go, Juan, go. You know I can't believe it, another open seam" (to Human Leagues' 'Don't You Want Me'). (Again, I ask you go easy on these quick examples!!). How about "No, you can't always get our Juan (x3) And if you try sometime, you might just find...that you can't get Snead." (Rolling Stones 'Can't always get what you want').
-- "(OOH!) What you want, (OOH!) Baby, I got it. (OOH!) What you need, (OOH) you know I got it. (OOH) And all I'm askin' is for a little Connette when we play at home." (Aretha Franklin's 'Respect') I actually think this one might work!
-- "You can't stop, no!, Conner Vernon (repeat). 'Cause you try..and you try...etc." (Rolling Stones 'Satisfaction')
-- "We love Boone, yeah, yeah, yeah. etc." (Beatles 'She Loves You')

Well, you get the picture. There are also some songs that could be used generically like the <clap,clap> cheer: 'Louie,Louie" is amenable to many names, as is 'Roxanne' (for which the lyrics could feature "blue and white" rather than "red light").

Finally, I offer this: "They don't need no education. They don't need no attendance roll. No time working in the classroom. Devils, leave those Heels alone. Hey, Devils, leave those Heels alone! All in all, they're just another brick in the wall."

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

One thing about football cheers, the cadence is as important as the words. Good football cheers tend to be simpler in terms how many words and the words tend to be those which are clear and easy to say. Tie the cheers to the action in the field for best results. In the old days, the band's drumline often kept the cadence for some of the cheers. Any chance you can coordinate a cheer or two with the band?

The comments about not being so loud during our offensive play are on point, but during the opposing team's offensive huddle (if they have one) or before and during the snap are times to jam the air, making it hard for the opposing guys to hear the audibles. Carolina uses a no huddle offense. Maybe "Oh, no, not that play!" just as they start a play.

Another possibility depending on how things go: Hi, Gio! Meet Jela!

When I was an undergraduate, we greeted the introduction of each visiting basketball player with, "Who's he?" That continued for quite a while , but we were instructed by some administrator over in Allen Building to stop being disrespectful. This is a new day. I think it's a great way to greet the introduction of at least the stars on the Carolina team... and maybe the coach.

[Lord Ash]

Personally I am a fan of this one...

(To the cadence of the "We are... Penn State" chant...)



WE ARE!

NOT REALLY USED TO THIS WHOLE SUCCESS IN FOOTBALL THING, SO REMAIN OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FOR CHANTS!




Or is this not effective enough?

[Dukehky]

I always hated the cheer sheets, I thought it pigeon holed the crowd a little bit. That being said, a sheet with the words to the fight songs is a horse of a different color. I think that's probably needed. Everybody knows the words to their fight songs, and all the Duke students do is say blue and white and white and blue during one of them and say one or two lines during Fight Blue Devils fight. If people have the words to the fight songs, then they're more likely to sing along.

I really don't like the things with what a player on the opposing team said on facebook/twitter and stuff like that, maybe it's just me. Everyone knows about the whole AAS stuff at Chapel Hill, just run with that and think of something at the game.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I always hated the cheer sheets, I thought it pigeon holed the crowd a little bit. That being said, a sheet with the words to the fight songs is a horse of a different color. I think that's probably needed. Everybody knows the words to their fight songs, and all the Duke students do is say blue and white and white and blue during one of them and say one or two lines during Fight Blue Devils fight. If people have the words to the fight songs, then they're more likely to sing along.

I really don't like the things with what a player on the opposing team said on facebook/twitter and stuff like that, maybe it's just me. Everyone knows about the whole AAS stuff at Chapel Hill, just run with that and think of something at the game.

I concur about learning the words to the two fight songs and the alma mater. All three songs are part of our history and readily available. A stadium full of people singing together makes a statement: Our House.

[DU82]

There was one instance early in the game that the students started the Let's Go Duke cheer, but like you said it sped up and faded pretty fast. Then later in the second half, there was another Let's go Duke and it seemed to be coming from the middle, or the sections in front of the press box. This cheer was louder and slower and easier to follow. Now maybe the students started it and the other fans took it over, I don't know, but it was impressive however it started. I was across the field from the students in section 11. I think the key to replicating that is to keep it a steady pace instead of the accelerating pace. This allows the crowds to pick up on it and join in. In Cameron it is a much more intimate setting and easier for fans to pick up on cheers. In Wallace Wade, people are a lot more spread out so it takes longer for the cheers to spread. As annoying as it is, the tar-heel chant works so well because it stays at a slow, predictive pace. I see no reason why we can't keep a steady 'Let's Go Duke' chant, allowing it to get loud and maintain intensity. I'm sure our players on the field would greatly appreciate it.

The cheers start in section 28 even (30 yard line). Glad we're being heard. It's the same five or six of us that have been cheering for the last fifteen years or so, however we now have an almost full section to join in and get it spread to the sections next to us. I usually start them (nine years associated with the band, seven playing, helps), and I have a VERY loud guy behind me that immediately joins in. (MKline, I think you may have sat between us last week.) Eventually, the cheerleaders or Dancing Devils in front of us figure it out and continue the same cheer.

The key to cheering at the Carolina game is noise, not cleverness. Not many of the "new" cheers I've read here so far will work in Wallace Wade. First, they'll catch on too slowly. Second, we can't hear the student section; they're projecting towards the other sideline (and the field, of course.) It would help if the band and drums would help with cadence, and when playing turn slightly towards the home side so we can hear and join in. It's not Cameron, where the opponents are mostly surrounded.

Keep it simple. Let's Go Duke! De-Fense! One simple one I would add for the next home game is that after every Carolina penalty, every Duke fan starts chanting "CHEAT-ers".

[DukieInKansas]

I'm still fond of "Harrass them, harrass them, make them relinquish the ball!" to go with the fumble play cheer mentioned earlier.

[dukebsbll14]

3. There needs to be something for kick-offs(receiving and kicking) for everyone. At other schools, there are typically salty chants after the kick. Ex: "Break his _____ legs!" , "You suck, _____!" , etc.

5. A group of students has taken to chanting "That's another Duke first down! RAWR!" from Panthers games. It drives me insane. If we're going to copy an NFL team, at least make it a decent team with a hardcore fanbase.

The origin of the "Hey everyone! That's another Duke first down! RAWR!" did come from the Carolina Panthers. Also, last year Cut referred to Sean Renfree as a "cat" in a press conference. It's all for you, Sean...

We got a nice chant for big plays from Ross Cockrell. Not sure if it's appropriate to write on these here boards, but it's "You just got Cockrolled!"

[mo.st.dukie]

I don't know if it would be feasible in a football stadium but I've always thought the "I believe that we will win" chant is one of the coolest chants I've ever heard in sports. It's done by a few fanbases but not many notable ones, and in any case most chants are copies of other chants anyways (i.e. KC Chiefs and FSU)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44YUnOoye58

[nyesq83]

Start simple. Let's go Duke, Let's go Devils, C'mon Duke, anything to spur the team on.

I am lucky, as I sit with the players' parents and families in Section 26, and I believe the team will hear me. I know the parents do, and they are loving the support.

Most important:
Please stand UP and yell loudly (WHAT? ANYTHING! JUST YELL!) on opposing team's third downs and scream especially loudly when they are directly in front of you.

Of course, GTHC, GTH must be employed in two weeks.

[uh_no]

Start simple. Let's go Duke, Let's go Devils, C'mon Duke, anything to spur the team on.

I am lucky, as I sit with the players' parents and families in Section 26, and I believe the team will hear me. I know the parents do, and they are loving the support.

Most important:
Please stand UP and yell loudly (WHAT? ANYTHING! JUST YELL!) on opposing team's third downs and scream especially loudly when they are directly in front of you.

Of course, GTHC, GTH must be employed in two weeks.

I'm so pumped for this game...and it will be many of the students' first carolina football game...mine as well

2 degrees and every year they put the game over thanksgiving..so i could never go...cut said he wanted it moved, and i'm glad it finally is...its going to be nuts

[dukebsbll14]

I'm so pumped for this game...and it will be many of the students' first carolina football game...mine as well

2 degrees and every year they put the game over thanksgiving..so i could never go...cut said he wanted it moved, and i'm glad it finally is...its going to be nuts

First and last (as students) for the juniors and seniors. Gotta make the most of it.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'd love if the PA announcer would say his "It's third down!" in Swahili. He'd get fired, but I'd love it.

[killerleft]

I'd love if the PA announcer would say his "It's third down!" in Swahili. He'd get fired, but I'd love it.

LOL, yes he would get fired! I agree with DiBD, the "Rip 'em up, Tear 'em up, Give 'em Hell, Duke!" is as good a football cheer as we could make up, and it is right on message when we play the tar heels.

[weezie]

Personally I am a fan of this one...

(To the cadence of the "We are... Penn State" chant...)

WE ARE!

NOT REALLY USED TO THIS WHOLE SUCCESS IN FOOTBALL THING, SO REMAIN OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FOR CHANTS!

Or is this not effective enough?

Hahaha, witty, droll and wordy.

How about packing the stands first and then getting the cheers worked out? Still looking pretty sparse in that there Wade Stadium.

[DukieInKansas]

There is always the option for the silent cheer: Stand up, quietly, row by row waving arms madly. All sit down as one and scream as loudly as possible - just noise, no words.