Where were you tonight, 16 years ago

[OZZIE4DUKE]

At a friend's house watching in his living room. The wives were banished to the kitchen as it was determined that we did better when they were in there and worse when they were in the living room. Fortunately, they stayed in the kitchen for "the shot"!

[Indoor66]

I was in my home in Chapel Hell (you know, the dump on the hump!) and watched the game there. The celebration was endless. I went to Durham to meet my son and celebrate. Good times.

[DukePA]

I was in my home in Chapel Hell (you know, the dump on the hump!) and watched the game there. The celebration was endless. I went to Durham to meet my son and celebrate. Good times.

The dump on hump!! I love it! I've never heard that before.

I was in Illinois and incredibly homesick (grew up in Hillsborough). The only downer was having absolutely no carolina fans around. I grew up surrounded by them and have yet to enjoy winning a NC while residing in North Carolina.

GO DUKE!!

[dukemsu]

I was on my mom and dad's couch with a 102 degree fever, and was completely freaking out as UK came back.

The ball seemed to hang in the air forever (on the pass). Once Christian fired, I never had any doubt it was net.

I ran around my parents' house five times, screaming like a lunatic until my dad screamed at me to sit down.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Funny, I find myself home tonight, and will be cheering against UNC from the same house, with Pitino coaching the opponent.

Weird.

[weezie]

I was on my mom and dad's couch....Funny, I find myself home tonight, and will be cheering against UNC from the same house, with Pitino coaching the opponent.

Weird.

I hope that couch has been replaced, or at least recovered!

[oso diablo]

i was a year out of Fuqua, living in Atlanta, in the midst of the most serious romantic relationship of my life (to that point), so much so that i decided to go to a concert (Charlie Peacock) and tape the game to watch later.

when we got back to my apt, i found - to my horror - that the cable had gone out and i had nothing. to this point, i had avoided the news so i'm totally in the dark. i called my best friend (and biggest Duke fan i know) in town to see if he had taped it and would let me have the tape. he's not home.

i can't stand not knowing, and the cable is still out, so i try the radio. i find a fuzzy AM station and hear a roundtable discussion that starts with "the greatest end to a college basketball i've ever seen". The next guy tops that by calling it "the best NCAA tournament game - ever". Now, i'm going nuts and i still don't know who won. The last guy completes the chorus by saying it was the "greatest sporting event, not just basketball game, i've ever seen".

I catch on that Duke had won on a Laettner miracle shot.

My buddy finally calls back after midnight - they had all gone out to celebrate. He won't let his videotape out of the house, but says i can come over and watch the OT.

I'll always feel like i've missed something significant, not having seen it live, never able to fully appreciate what it felt like to see Woods, then Laettner, hit their shots.

p.s. the concert was very good, i broke up with the girl a few weeks later, and, most importantly, i learned my karmic lesson.

[toddfowler]

I was working in Cubbies Restaurant (Greenville, NC) surrounded by Carolina fans. The only other Duke fans were two of my work mates. Needless to say we were not working hard and drank a lot of free beer. After Kentucky made their shot, several Tool fans started singing "Sha Na Na Na!! Hey! Hey! Good Bye!" Our grill cook, Reggie, came over and said, " Don't worry. The pass will go to Laettner and he'll hit the shot." Grant Hill made the pass. Laettner hit the shot and we, 'The Three Dukies' picked up our beloved grill cook and carried him around the restaurant. Needless to say the Tool fans cleared out...quick!

Go Duke!!! Go to Hell Carolina!!!!

[Buckeye Devil]

white male, I never knew I had that much spring in my legs. I jumped so high when Christian made the shot that I hit my head on the ceiling.

Of course, I jumped off of a foot rest that was about 12" off the ground, I am 6' tall, and the ceilings were 8' high. Go figure.

[devildownunder]

I was a poor college student huddled up in my dorm room, watching the game all by myself on my tiny, pathetic little black & white TV. I didn't dare watch the game on the big screens in the lobby or the student center because everyone else on campus hated duke, or so it seemed.

When Woods hit his shot, I heard the cheers from other areas of the dorm.

When Laettner hit his, I ran screaming through the halls in celebration. As ridiculous as it sounds, I felt vindicated as a fan.

It was The Perfect Game.

[Eckster]

At Satisfaction (the original location in Lakewood shopping center) in Durham, having spent the whole day there making sure we had a great seat. The feeling in that bar with a hundred people all going nuts was incredible- strangers hugging strangers, people screaming and jumping around...I'll never forget it. Of course everyone headed immediately to campus to watch some stuff burn and people run around in naked jubilation. Quite an experience.

[davekay1971]

I still have a hard-copy of that edition.

Wow...I hadn't read that in awhile. What a great article. It makes you realize that, for the coaches and players, it is really a different game than it is for us. You can see the respect and affection they have for each other...while we fans bash each other and each others schools and (as we're seeing with those recent Chronicle articles) even our own players. K's reaction to seeing Farmer was touching...probably the best part of that article. He could empathise with Farmer as easily as if he'd been the Kentucky coach. That's the beauty of the game.

That being said, I still hope Carolina loses by 20 next week and the Tar Heel fans suffer brutally for it.