Sanford's letter to the Crazies

[Lauderdevil]

I believe it would be fair to mark Uncle Terry's letter as the start of the modern Crazies. Prior to that, the Duke students were always among the loudest and most creative in the nation, but they mixed it with the type of boorish behavior you'd currently see at Maryland or plenty of other generic loud arenas. Four-letter words and cruel taunts were as much a part of the mix as the car key jingles, "Green Shorts," and bald caps for Lefty. After Sanford's letter, the focus shifted -- permanently, it turned out -- to creativity and parody of the vulgarity found elsewhere, as noted above:

> "we beg to differ" in place of the previously-standard "B.S." cheer
> "welcome fellow scholars" to greet N.C. State
> Greeting opposing players with "Hi, [name]" at introductions in place of "You Suck"

The result of shifting from R rated (and sometimes worse) to well-crafted PG-13 has been near-universal acknowlegement of Cameron as the best homecourt in the nation, with the best fans. It is that kind of reputation that has in turn helped attract scores of top players over the decades since. (That 25 years, of course, has been among the most impressive runs of any college basketball programs in history.)

Terry Sanford oversaw the rise of Duke from a top regional institution to a major national one in the late 1970's and early 1980's. This letter was just one example of how he did it. The fact that a University President had the kind of relationship with the student community that he could have such a significant impact on this small (but important) part of the student experience with a single letter is remarkable.

Duke, and today's Crazies, are still benefitting. Coach K's 800th win is a great moment to stop and tip the hat to a sometimes forgotten piece of the puzzle.

[gkisertbdf]

I love reading this site. This is uually the first place I check out everyday. I love to hear what Duke fans are saying about Duke basketball. I have only got to attend 3 or 4 games in Cameron and it was a wonderful experience. I don't know if this would be appropriate or not, would it be possible to post some of the chants that the crazies will be saying during the game. I wish I could turn the sound off the announcers and listen to the crazies. I tivo back during the game to try and figure what some of the chants are. I can hear the ones like Let's go Duke, Drive Home Safely, or Go to Hell Carolina. Sometimes I can pick up on when you are saying a player's name after a great play. If I knew some of the ones you were saying I would say them in my living room during the game.

[dukemomLA]

Yeah, best website ever is DBR!! I also wish the announcers would shut up -- or at least have each network run a 'stream' of the chants. We miss some gems while watching on the telly. Strain at times just to try to figure out what the Crazies are saying.