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  1. #1

    Watching Duke win in a sports bar

    Since I can't get Big 10 TV at home, I went to a nearby sports bar to watch the game.

    There were about 40 Duke fans there, along with a slightly larger number of non-Duke fans. I was seated next to two Carolina fans who were 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.ing about Heels' loss to Virginia. They were complaining about the relplay that was used to overturn the field goal call in the second half. They agreed that the kick was good, but argued that it was a non-revueable play (I heard the same argument on the UNC radio network).

    As the game started, the Duke fans were hecked by a couple of loud drunks. The loudest was pulling for Nebraska, but as the Huskers started getting buried by USC, he shut up).

    A couple of points -- for those of you complaining about the officiating, I'd agree that it was horrible. But it was an ACC crew, not Big Ten. And for the most part, I think Duke got the benefit of the bad or questionable calls (one big exception was the bogus pass interference on Aye-Darko).

    However, I also have to point out that the review official was a Big Ten guy (visiting teams usually bring their own officiating crews, but not the guy in the booth). His overturn of the spot on Lewis's fourth-down try was unbelievable -- that's not just my opinion, but the two guys doing the game for the Big Ten network were outraged too. The replay appeared to confirm the original spot -- there was absolutely nothing "conclusive" to overturn it.

    That call turned the game around. Duke was up 20-7 late in the third quarter and should have had a first down at the NW 34. Instead, NW took over, marched down and scored on the first play of the fourth quarter and Duke spent the last 14 minutes hanging on for dear life.

    -- Great job by the defense at the end. Four stops from the Duke 11 with two minutes left. Four more stops from the Duke 7 in the final 30 seconds.

    -- I was really frustrated by the playcalling in the second half. Lewis was slicing and dicing up their defense (19 of 23 completions), but the running game simply didn't work. In the first half, Duke attacked with the passing game, but as the game wore on, the playcalling got more and more concervative and that almost cost Duke.

    -- Kevin Jones had two great punts in the fourth quarter. With 10 minutes left, he rolled one down the sideline for 64 yards that forced NW to start on their own 10 (the drove to the Duke 6 before they were stopped). And with two minutes left, he boomed one 45 yards that hung so long that Eron Riley put a crushing hit on the NW receiver.

    Now Florida International has the nation's longest losing streak (15 straight). UNC has the ACC's longest losing streak (two games).

    Actually, it's kind of funny -- five Division 1-A teams in North Carolina and all five of them are 1-2 this morning!

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    Actually, it's kind of funny -- five Division 1-A teams in North Carolina and all five of them are 1-2 this morning!
    There is a reason the state of NC is known for its hoops

    --Jason "great report, as always, Oly Fan!" Evans

  3. #3
    I watched it someplace too. As I said somewhere else here, we're capable of winning games against teams like NW without needing all the calls or bounces to go our way, and that's exactly what happened.

    That said, we didn't solve all our problems. We came close to losing because of our kicking game. Our halftime adjustments were bad on offense, getting shut out in the second half after Lewis was playing excellent in the first. The difference was that this time our defense played exceptionally well, enough to overcome these two flaws. This isn't going to be "Oh, now we know how to win, we're going to run the table now," but it's a good start.

  4. #4
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    There are few experiences I enjoy less than watching Duke sports in a bar. (Satisfactions/Devines excluded as a very tiny piece of home turf). I'll tell you what sucked, being on the road for every men's ACCT 2004-present and most of our 1R NCAAT games. Des Moines, Chicago, Gulfport, rural Arkansas, StL... we ain't got friends in high or low places.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


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    Who’s gonna bury who
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  5. #5

    Talking

    Quote Originally Posted by throatybeard View Post
    There are few experiences I enjoy less than watching Duke sports in a bar. (Satisfactions/Devines excluded as a very tiny piece of home turf). I'll tell you what sucked, being on the road for every men's ACCT 2004-present and most of our 1R NCAAT games. Des Moines, Chicago, Gulfport, rural Arkansas, StL... we ain't got friends in high or low places.
    Duke has plenty of friends in both high and low places in metropolitan NYC. It feels way more like a home game than it does in the "friendly" confines of Charlotte or even Greensboro.

    My "Larry the Cable Guy" Theory
    The more an area likes Larry the Cable Guy..the less likely they'll be rooting for the Blue Devils

    Not to be confused with the Bobby DeNiro Theory
    The more an area likes DeNiro...the more likely they'll be rooting for the Blue Devils

  6. #6
    Hee hee hee... I think I like that!

    However, having watched Indiana take that game away from us a few years back by fouling Carlos Boozer down in the village at the Riviera, I can safely say there are a number of New Yorkers who want us to lose, too.

  7. #7
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    My personal definition of 'The South' - when you can get car racing on the radio, you know you're in the south. I wonder if that corollary works for Duke fandom as well?

    (Although I'm "Bostondevil", I am and always will be FROM The South.)

    (I hate watching Duke in public places too, I don't want anybody from the enemy side within range. I won't even go to private parties unless I'm guaranteed Duke only, at least for Carolina and the Final Four.)
    Last edited by Bostondevil; 09-16-2007 at 08:15 PM.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by throatybeard View Post
    There are few experiences I enjoy less than watching Duke sports in a bar.
    It doesn't really apply to Duke football, though - Duke football fans are usually treated by nonpartisans with a mix of pity and fear, as if they have some strange fatal disease.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    Since I can't get Big 10 TV at home, I went to a nearby sports bar to watch the game.

    There were about 40 Duke fans there, along with a slightly larger number of non-Duke fans.
    Out of curiousity, were you at Carolina Ale House? I WAS THERE TOO!

  10. #10
    Carolina Ale House over here too! I can't believe they put the game on the big screen. Whenever anyone walked in the bar they took one look at the screen and grimaced. It was kind of funny. The crowd was more Duke-centric than I would have thought. In the beginning a bunch of us were rather excited over every first down (and extra point), which obviously dismayed some fans of the uglier shade of blue among other affiliations.

    I figured what's the point in rooting for the team playing Duke football in response to our Blue Devil excitment. After that streak, if our group student fans (who searched around Durham to find out who actually had the Big Ten Network so we could watch the game) haven't cracked yet we weren't going to any time soon. By the end of the game the crowd seemed rather pro-Duke.

  11. #11
    Yeah, I was at Sati's. Even though it's our "home field," I was actually surprised at how many people were there actively rooting for us... I thought I was one of like 20 actual Duke football fans.

  12. #12
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    Let me state right off that this post is not meant in any way to insult or bring down Duke football. Rather, it is simply recognizing a reality about the state of the football program today.

    If there is one truism in sports in the USA it is that people root for the underdog. We all know this and we see it over and over again. I think even in a rivalry, there is a warm spot in our hearts if our rival has a truly pathetic team. I am not talking about a one-year aberration from an otherwise stellar program (like the Doh debacle or what Notre Dame is enduring this year), I am talking about a rival program that has not won anything meaningful in recent memory.

    With that in mind, I think even Carolina fans had a little fun rooting for Duke football this weekend. Maybe they would not admit it and they would grimace a bit outwardly, but inside there was a piece of them that did not mind seeing the once woeful Duke football team actually win one.

    Maybe I am wrong, but I think this may explain why the Carolina crowd was not as spiteful and mean as we generally expect them to be.

    --Jason "then again, Carolina football has pretty much sucked almost as much as Duke lately and I don't root for them to win-- so maybe I am dead wrong about this " Evans
    Last edited by JBDuke; 09-16-2007 at 11:18 PM. Reason: fixed typo

  13. #13
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    Carolina Ale House here, too. At the long table right in front of the big screen.

    And, just on NBC 17 talking about the post-game celebration. Hell yeah.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post

    With that in mind, I think even Carolina fans had a little fun rooting for Duke football this weekend. Maybe they would not admit it and they would grimace a bit outwardly, but inside there was a piece of them that did not mind seeing the once woeful Duke football team actually win one.

    Maybe I am wrong, but I think this may explain why the Carolina crowd was not as spiteful and mean as we generally expect them to be.

    --Jason "then again, Carolina football has pretty much sucked almost as much as Duke lately and I don't root for them to win-- so maybe I am dead wrong about this " Evans
    Yeah, I dont think so. what would have been more exciting for a carolina fan than for duke to lose it on that last series there? how do you see a decently strong willed carolina fan not beggin for that?

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    A couple of points -- for those of you complaining about the officiating, I'd agree that it was horrible. But it was an ACC crew, not Big Ten.
    Frankly I've never been overly impressed with ACC officials either.


    -- I was really frustrated by the playcalling in the second half. Lewis was slicing and dicing up their defense (19 of 23 completions), but the running game simply didn't work. In the first half, Duke attacked with the passing game, but as the game wore on, the playcalling got more and more concervative and that almost cost Duke.
    It is human nature to get overly concerned and I'm sure coach went into prevent mode and was more concerned about running the clock down. However, i agree with you. I think you dance with who took you there. I don't like prevent modes on offense or defense. The passing game gave them a 20-7 lead and I saw no reason to change it. i believe that is what has cost the duke Women two national championships [but sorry, that's another thread].

    I would like to see a better running game against navy.


    Now Florida International has the nation's longest losing streak (15 straight). UNC has the ACC's longest losing streak (two games).
    I had wondered who that was... Maybe UNC can catch them.

    Actually, it's kind of funny -- five Division 1-A teams in North Carolina and all five of them are 1-2 this morning!
    With all of UNC's bloviating it's great that duke and UNC has the same exact record.

    Last edited by Bluedawg; 09-17-2007 at 09:14 AM.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wander View Post
    That said, we didn't solve all our problems. We came close to losing because of our kicking game.
    Actually i think it was the lack of a running game.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bostondevil View Post
    (I hate watching Duke in public places too, I don't want anybody from the enemy side within range. I won't even go to private parties unless I'm guaranteed Duke only, at least for Carolina and the Final Four.)
    that takes the fun out of sports, being able to jab with people. A number of years ago, when Dale Murphy was with Atlanta, I saw a Braves game in Candlestick. When the guy next to me found out i was a braves fan he and i had a blast.

  18. #18
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    Bluedawg, I'm guessing you're a guy, it's the same principle that drives fantasy sports leagues. Women just don't jaw about sports as much as men. And, IMHO, we take the jawing way to personally. I know I do, so I opt out. I absolutely don't want to listen to some jerk rag on me, my team, my intelligence, etc. particularly not when Duke is losing. No thanks, not fun at all.

    I do however make bets at work with the Carolina (and Yankee) fans. After the fact, when I've had time to prepare, sure, I'll give it as well as I get it, but not in real time.

  19. #19
    alteran is offline All-American, Honorable Mention
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bostondevil View Post
    And, IMHO, we take the jawing way to personally. I know I do, so I opt out. I absolutely don't want to listen to some jerk rag on me, my team, my intelligence, etc. particularly not when Duke is losing. No thanks, not fun at all.
    It's so dependent upon who you're dealing with-- when it's "all in good fun," sitting next to an opposing fan can be a lot of fun.

    When you're sitting next to some one who just wants to use it as an excuse to be vicious, time to move on.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by alteran View Post
    It's so dependent upon who you're dealing with-- when it's "all in good fun," sitting next to an opposing fan can be a lot of fun.

    When you're sitting next to some one who just wants to use it as an excuse to be vicious, time to move on.
    I agree completely. the Giants fan i was with was great...even after the Braves won on a 9th inning HR by Murphy.

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