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  1. #1

    My Cameron Farewell

    Hey everyone-- I haven't posted here much in recent years. Blogging and internet board post counts have taken a backseat to my pursuit of a PhD, which I am finishing this year. It will be my second degree from Duke, and after ten basketball seasons, tonight is my 116th and final game in Cameron. I know this isn't anywhere near any kind of record (Hi, VikingGuy!), nor am I expecting fame for this or anything.

    But I have been reflecting a lot about my time in Cameron and I resurrected my old blog to make one more post:

    A Farewell to Cameron: The Ten Greatest Games I've Seen

    It's my perspective on what it's been like to be a Cameron Crazy for a decade. I hope you enjoy it. I've been really lucky to be a part of a great community of fans. Go Duke!

  2. #2
    Nice work! Somehow Sam Tasher got an article in The Chronicle about him after only 8 years in the student section (just kidding incidentally, not saying it didn't warrant a write-up), so you have him beat!

    http://www.dukechronicle.com/article...m-tasher-story

    And, as noted in the comments, so does Becca (I won't reveal last name since she didn't...). I "only" got to watch in person during my four undergrad years...and happened to be out of the town for the two buzzer beaters in my four years (Dockery and McClure), d'oh! Although the 2005 UNC game was a pretty fantastic atmosphere.

  3. #3
    Dev11's Avatar
    Dev11 is offline Commissioner of Statistics, DBR Podcast
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    Nice work! Somehow Sam Tasher got an article in The Chronicle about him after only 8 years in the student section (just kidding incidentally, not saying it didn't warrant a write-up), so you have him beat!

    http://www.dukechronicle.com/article...m-tasher-story

    And, as noted in the comments, so does Becca (I won't reveal last name since she didn't...). I "only" got to watch in person during my four undergrad years...and happened to be out of the town for the two buzzer beaters in my four years (Dockery and McClure), d'oh! Although the 2005 UNC game was a pretty fantastic atmosphere.
    To be fair, Sam Tasher has not only been there for 8 years, but he probably has the longest active national tv close-up streak of anybody in the building save for Coach K.

  4. #4
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    Nice Blog

    It was fun to read your blog and relive those games from the student section. I graduated in '81, and before there was a K-ville, we camped out under the portico, when for a mere 4-day campout my fiancee (later, wife) and I got front row center and lots of media attention. We were rewarded with that famous 7-0 first half against the Holes, when they took only two shots the entire half, both of them airballs by Chicky Yonaker.

    I told myself I'd get back for games, but I never have been able to swing it. West Coast living and all. I may have to make a point of it soon. Maybe next season.

    P.S. Congrats on finishing your Ph.D.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by mehmattski View Post
    Hey everyone-- I haven't posted here much in recent years. Blogging and internet board post counts have taken a backseat to my pursuit of a PhD
    Welcome to the ranks of the unemployable

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Henderson View Post
    It was fun to read your blog and relive those games from the student section. I graduated in '81, and before there was a K-ville, we camped out under the portico, when for a mere 4-day campout my fiancee (later, wife) and I got front row center and lots of media attention. We were rewarded with that famous 7-0 first half against the Holes, when they took only two shots the entire half, both of them airballs by Chicky Yonaker.

    I told myself I'd get back for games, but I never have been able to swing it. West Coast living and all. I may have to make a point of it soon. Maybe next season.

    P.S. Congrats on finishing your Ph.D.
    Wow, that's the origin of the "airball" chant, right? Good times!

    Hopefully you can make it back someday-- if you've got a busy schedule I'd recommend the winter break games. The Crazies are mostly gone, but that means you can fairly easily find yourself tickets in the student section. That'd be quite a way to re-live it!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Florida
    Tonight's game will be my 116th and final game in the student section at Cameron. . . . Here's the entire list of losses I've personally witnessed in Cameron:

    Georgia Tech 2004; UNC 2006; UNC 2008; UNC 2009; Florida State 2012; Miami 2012; UNC 2012.
    Wow. Ten years worth of Cameron losses, in one line.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lauderdevil View Post
    Wow. Ten years worth of Cameron losses, in one line.
    not quite - he missed the 06-07, which included many more home losses than i am willing to relive, including to north carolina and the infamous deron washington game against vpi.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by mehmattski View Post
    Hey everyone-- I haven't posted here much in recent years. Blogging and internet board post counts have taken a backseat to my pursuit of a PhD, which I am finishing this year. It will be my second degree from Duke, and after ten basketball seasons, tonight is my 116th and final game in Cameron. I know this isn't anywhere near any kind of record (Hi, VikingGuy!), nor am I expecting fame for this or anything.

    But I have been reflecting a lot about my time in Cameron and I resurrected my old blog to make one more post:

    A Farewell to Cameron: The Ten Greatest Games I've Seen

    It's my perspective on what it's been like to be a Cameron Crazy for a decade. I hope you enjoy it. I've been really lucky to be a part of a great community of fans. Go Duke!
    Enjoyed your blog. Good luck to you as you go on from Duke!

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by NovaScotian View Post
    not quite - he missed the 06-07, which included many more home losses than i am willing to relive, including to north carolina and the infamous deron washington game against vpi.
    Yeah either I got lucky to miss that one, or I have some kind of mystical powers. It's a tossup!

    Tonight was amazing, I found some other "Double Dukies" and we stayed around on the court for a long while afterwards. Things got a little emotional during the Alma Mater.

    Thanks everyone for your kind comments on my post. Cameron will always be a second home for me.

    Nuestra casa!

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Durham, NC
    10 seasons as a Cameron Crazy is impressive. (So is completing your PhD.) Tonight also marked a milestone for my mom (The retired "Czar of Housing" for those at Duke up to '93). She just finished her 71st season watching Duke basketball in Cameron. (Ok, it wasn't called Cameron yet when she arrived for her freshman year in '42. Heck, the building was only, what?... 2 years old then?) At 88 and counting, she plans on being back for her 72nd next year, too.
    -Son of Jarhead

    The Duke fan formerly known as BuschDevil

  12. #12
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by BuschDevil View Post
    10 seasons as a Cameron Crazy is impressive. (So is completing your PhD.) Tonight also marked a milestone for my mom (The retired "Czar of Housing" for those at Duke up to '93). She just finished her 71st season watching Duke basketball in Cameron. (Ok, it wasn't called Cameron yet when she arrived for her freshman year in '42. Heck, the building was only, what?... 2 years old then?) At 88 and counting, she plans on being back for her 72nd next year, too.
    Tonight's my 20th season watching in Cameron, mostly from the upper deck. One great season as a ball-boy. Second as a student. Got a long way to go.

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    new york

    Congrats

    Congrats on the PhD and the blog, and may you get a teaching job at Duke some day and be a Cameron regular for the next 30 years.

  14. #14
    Loved the blog...it reminded me of my Cameron Farewell in 2010 and how emotional it was for me. I was 9 years old when I became obsessed with the idea that I wanted to go to Duke, and aside from a brief period of awkward teenage confusion, that never really changed. 18 years later, I had been a Dukie for 8 years (with a year of working at Duke in between) and my last game as a student was to be the 82-50 drubbing of Carolina. I cried during the national anthem, had to stop myself from crying at points during the game, then rather than head off to campus to enjoy the bonfire after the win, I went straight to my car and headed home in tears. I was (am?) a sad, pathetic person.

    (And one month later, watching us win the national championship from within Cameron easily became one of the greatest moments of my life so far).

    It goes to show how much of a family we are at Duke and how meaningful these shared experiences are, whether you're in the top bowl or in the student section. This place rocks.

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