A Kentucky fan at Cameron

[KenTankerous]

I know that that may grate the nerves of some of you Blue Devil's fans but my ladylove is a HUGE Duke fan and I took the opportunity to get a pair of the general admission tickets for the Cornell game and give her the Christmas present of her dreams.

Let me say that the Duke campus is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen - and I have been to Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, etc. And the Washington Duke is by far the best hotel I have ever had the pleasure of endulging.

This trip dispelled so many myths about Duke, The Cameron Crazies and Coach K. To wit:

The students we met were not arrogant blue bloods too good to greet strangers and lend a hand, even after I told them I was a Kentuky fan. Standing outside the Washington Duke waiting for a cab to dinner, Jon Scheyer pulled up with his family. My girl recognized him, congratulated him for a game well played. He actually blushed when we said we drove all the way from KY to see him played. He laughed when I told him I was a Kentucky fan and I had a great time.

The Crazies, while very exuberant fans, are far from rude to opposing players, coaches and fans - no, quite the contrary is true. During player introductions, the Crazies listen attentively to the players name and then all say "Hello (players name here)!" When the game was locked up and the opposing starters were all pulled, the Crazies gave them a standing ovation for a game well played. There is a palpable sense among the fans that the close proximity to the court is a very unique situation that hinges on the behavior of the fans and the crazies take that responsibility seriously.

Coach K is class act through and through. Make no mistake, this is his HOUSE. There is an awe in the air when he is about to enter the arena. When he enters Cameron, he goes directly to the opposing coaches and players and spends a few minutes talking to them and welcoming them to Cameron. Contrary to everything I have ever heard, he does not overly work the officials. Compared to the way Rick Petino pounds those guys, Kzyzewski only once even talked to them and he didn't seem to raise his voice and certainly wasn't harping like a Bobby Knight.

I'm sure none of this surprises anyone on this board. I just felt compelled to post it, a thank you note of sorts, to the Duke community here.

Am I a Duke fan now? Well, I just couldn't bring myself to buy a Duke basketball shirt at the Bryon Center, but as long as they aren't playing Kentucky, sure, I can cheer for the Blue Devils. Does it twist my Cat Fan conscience. sure, a little, but the experience was so amazing, I'll deal with that.

[billybreen]

Hey, great post and welcome to the board. Glad to hear you loved Cameron as much as we all do. Thanks for the kind words.

[Bluedog]

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed your experience. The Crazies were not at full force for the Cornell game, however, as students were still on winter break...so, you have to come back to an ACC game!

[CameronBlue]

Gracious words, Cat fan. By the way, not to hijack this thread but can you comment upon this breaking news item out of Lexington?

Lexington, KY (AP) - A seven-year-old Frankfort , KY boy was at the
center of a Franklin County courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged
a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a
history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded
custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations
requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible. The
boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more
than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the
judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried
out they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate
family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life
among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to
propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check
legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge
granted temporary custody to the Kentucky Wildcats, whom the boy firmly
believes are not capable of beating anyone.

[BlueDevilBaby]

Hope you'll ignore CameronBlue and stay in touch, KenTankerous.

[CameronBlue]

Hope you'll ignore CameronBlue and stay in touch, KenTankerous.

Oh, you don't have to apologize for me. I'm sure KT recognizes levity when he sees it. But thanks for standing up for the maliciously aggreived of the world. I'm sure there's a humantarian award out there for you somewhere.

[BlueDevilBaby]

I'm not always so magnanimous (e.g., I was rooting for Vandy on Sat.), but when he has the graciousness to post a compliment to Duke and its fans on our boards, well. . . . But, to be sure, I would definitely kick Carolina if it ever gets down again.

[CameronBlue]

I'm not always so magnanimous (e.g., I was rooting for Vandy on Sat.), but when he has the graciousness to post a compliment to Duke and its fans on our boards, well. . . . But, to be sure, I would definitely kick Carolina if it ever gets down again.

Kicking Carolina when they're down is merciful and necessary to drive the point home.

...anyway, nicely articulated sentiments KT, please hang around.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I know that that may grate the nerves of some of you Blue Devil's fans but my ladylove is a HUGE Duke fan and I took the opportunity to get a pair of the general admission tickets for the Cornell game and give her the Christmas present of her dreams.

Let me say that the Duke campus is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen - and I have been to Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, etc. And the Washington Duke is by far the best hotel I have ever had the pleasure of endulging.

This trip dispelled so many myths about Duke, The Cameron Crazies and Coach K. To wit:

The students we met were not arrogant blue bloods too good to greet strangers and lend a hand, even after I told them I was a Kentuky fan. Standing outside the Washington Duke waiting for a cab to dinner, Jon Scheyer pulled up with his family. My girl recognized him, congratulated him for a game well played. He actually blushed when we said we drove all the way from KY to see him played. He laughed when I told him I was a Kentucky fan and I had a great time.

The Crazies, while very exuberant fans, are far from rude to opposing players, coaches and fans - no, quite the contrary is true. During player introductions, the Crazies listen attentively to the players name and then all say "Hello (players name here)!" When the game was locked up and the opposing starters were all pulled, the Crazies gave them a standing ovation for a game well played. There is a palpable sense among the fans that the close proximity to the court is a very unique situation that hinges on the behavior of the fans and the crazies take that responsibility seriously.

Coach K is class act through and through. Make no mistake, this is his HOUSE. There is an awe in the air when he is about to enter the arena. When he enters Cameron, he goes directly to the opposing coaches and players and spends a few minutes talking to them and welcoming them to Cameron. Contrary to everything I have ever heard, he does not overly work the officials. Compared to the way Rick Petino pounds those guys, Kzyzewski only once even talked to them and he didn't seem to raise his voice and certainly wasn't harping like a Bobby Knight.

I'm sure none of this surprises anyone on this board. I just felt compelled to post it, a thank you note of sorts, to the Duke community here.

Am I a Duke fan now? Well, I just couldn't bring myself to buy a Duke basketball shirt at the Bryon Center, but as long as they aren't playing Kentucky, sure, I can cheer for the Blue Devils. Does it twist my Cat Fan conscience. sure, a little, but the experience was so amazing, I'll deal with that.

Thank you for what you've said! It's a great reminder to all of us that real people often don't match the stereotypes held by their opponents.

[devildeac]

Gracious words, Cat fan. By the way, not to hijack this thread but can you comment upon this breaking news item out of Lexington?

Lexington, KY (AP) - A seven-year-old Frankfort , KY boy was at the
center of a Franklin County courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged
a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a
history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded
custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations
requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible. The
boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more
than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the
judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried
out they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate
family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life
among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to
propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check
legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge
granted temporary custody to the Kentucky Wildcats, whom the boy firmly
believes are not capable of beating anyone.

That joke sounds vaguely familiar. In fact, I think I heard it several times over the last few years about the Duke FB program . I also heard it several times in September last year about the ND FB program. My nurse's husband did not appreciate it very much. He is a ND grad who spends almost as much time on the ND nation web site as I spend on DBR . I fixed her, however. We had an office party at our house after that and I gave him the DBR site info as he is a huge Duke men's BB fan as he got his MBA from Duke and has been hooked since then. I think he is still gainfully employed even with his twin 'addictions'.

[SeattleIrish]

Gracious words, Cat fan. By the way, not to hijack this thread but can you comment upon this breaking news item out of Lexington?

Lexington, KY (AP) - A seven-year-old Frankfort , KY boy was at the
center of a Franklin County courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged
a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a
history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded
custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations
requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible. The
boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more
than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the
judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried
out they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate
family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life
among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to
propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check
legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge
granted temporary custody to the Kentucky Wildcats, whom the boy firmly
believes are not capable of beating anyone.

I actually hadn't heard that one before - even read it all the way to the bottom before figuring out it was a hoax (and laughed at the punchline). Might have been a tad discourteous, but I sure found it funny!

s.i.

p.s. - loved reading your perspective on the visit to Cameron, kenT - thanks for posting! I am curious as to UK fans thoughts on whether Tubby leaving was good or bad for the program; if you post again, I'd love it if you could cover that.

[Jumbo]

Oh, you don't have to apologize for me. I'm sure KT recognizes levity when he sees it. But thanks for standing up for the maliciously aggreived of the world. I'm sure there's a humantarian award out there for you somewhere.

Be nice. Please.

[KenTankerous]

Great Joke CameronBlue. In fact, it's been one of my favs for years...

I appreciate the warm welcome, jokes and all. I'm pretty thick skinned, especially when it comes to my Cats. I've been a Cat fan since I was old enough to dribble a ball, which in Kentucky is right after you start smoking and drinking bourbon - 18 to 20 months. I've been through the championship years and the probation era - Eddie Sutton should have every win he tallied with those tainted Kentucky recruiting teams stricken from his record - so going .500 for the season, and being derided mercilessly about it, isn't going to crush me. Believe it or not, I get paid the same and get the same great loving from my Duke girl if Kentucky wins or losses! How great is my life?

To speak on Tubby - I liked Tubby. I think he is a great coach and no one is better at using a season of adversity to prepare for the tournament. His only drawback is recruiting. But that was as much a product of the lack of support he got from the press, fans and AD as it was his own shortcomings in that arena. If Kentucky had loved on Tubby like they did on Petino, he'd have been able to recruit a championship caliber team and then coached them to greatness. And it pains me to say it, but part of the problem my fellow Cat faithful had with man was racial. Plain and simple, it is one of the reasons I'm not always proud to be a Kentucky fan.

But fan-dom is funny that way, isn't it. If you have grown up a fan of a certain team, you can't just switch, can you? I mean I liked the Cincinnati Reds as a kid because of the Big Red Machine and the World Series victory but when I moved to San Francisco, it was easy to become a Giants fan because I wasn't born a Reds fan. No, I think to stop being a Cats fan - which I have been tempted to try because of crap like the Tubby thing - I'd have to stop being a college basketball fan altogether.

And that I won't do.

[DukieInKansas]

Welcome, KenT!

You are the best kind of fan in my mind - with your team through good and bad, able to see flaws (not that your team would ever have any), and able to take a joke. Kentucky will have better years ahead - and what a game against Vandy.

[Lavabe]

Wow ... why can't there be more fans like KenT? Imagine ... no DukeHatredTsunami thread!

I wonder what proportion of UK fans would side with your perspective, or would at least respond positively to your anecdote about visiting CIS? What is their reaction when you tell them about your visit to CIS?

Cheers and welcome aboard!
Lavabe

[wilson]

Thanks a lot from yet another Duke fan...it really does make some of us feel better to hear that we're in fact not arrogant a-holes, that we have a good place, that we know the game, etc.
Now, how about posting your above comments on your favorite UK board and helping us just a little bit more?

[jimsumner]

Be nice. Please. 2.

BTW, that joke is believed to have originated in the Epic of Gilgamesh, 2700 years ago, discussing the Assyrian track and field team during an unusually long period of rebuilding.

[CrazyCat]

Thank you so much for crossing over to our side to say such wonderful things. I have to tell you, some of my all time favorite games were/are against Kentucky. Please join us again in our discussions. It is always nice to have an outside point of view.

[mgtr]

When I don't root for Duke, I root for UK. UK has a great record, and is one of my two or three favorite teams (although not my number 1 favorite team). If Duke is beaten in the NCAAs (heaven forfend), I would switch over to UK after one or two adult beverages. As a UK fan once pointed out to me, you cannot spell Duke without UK.

[cspan37421]

Kentankerous, thanks for the post. It is so refreshing to see that rivalries need not be seething hate fests, but can be pulling hard for your team and dishing out nothing more nasty than good natured ribbing (well, or nearly so).

FWIW I went to HS in Kentucky so I have a bit of an appreciation for UK hoops. I recall once when teaching came to a halt one day as all classes showed the UK-Louisville game. I forget the circumstances but this would have been around 1983-5. Every guy knew who Mr. Basketball was in KY, as well as neighboring states (esp. IN). I totally agree with you about Sutton and Smith. But at bottom, it is a beautiful game and KY is among the top few all-time schools in playing it well.

The win against Vandy was impressive, and the season is not yet lost. Some of the best teams end up 22-11 on occasion, you know.

And by the way, PLEASE post your starting comments to KY fan forums. I guess our job is to find a way to Rupp and report back.