We vs Duke

[K24U]

I'm sure I have used "we" a few times, I try not to though. I'm not part of the team in any way, therefore have no right to say we.

If I'm talking about Duke fans I say we.

I have been a fan for years and have gone to 40-50 games, have given money to the program just like others. I still don't play for the team or work for the team, therefore can't bring myself to say we.

[calltheobvious]

It's more odd when a play-by-play person does it on air. Having said that, Larry Munson at UGA made the use of "We" a part of his on-air shtick. It's odd to hear it at first.

Cheers,
Lavabe

Ugh. I don't think it's "odd," I think it's "awful," because "we" is all he ever says. Several years ago my parents were driving through Georgia on a Saturday afternoon and my dad was looking for a game on the radio. Having been a lifelong SEC guy he knew Munson's voice and stopped tuning the dial there. But my mom rode silently for half an hour trying to figure out who was playing before she finally had to ask. And like Lavabe wrote, Munson's not evan an analyst, he's the play-by-play guy!

The real joke is that you can tell my mom's Munson story anywhere in the southeast without any of the identifying detail and people will still know immediately that it was a UGA broadcast.

The use of "we" by broadcasters isn't bad because it's homering, it's bad because it reduces their ability to do their jobs.

I know how protective Georgia fans are of Munson, but a lot of that's because he's old (I'm not one for sentimentality); if he worked for anybody else, they'd admit that he's crap at informing listeners of what is actually going on in the game.

[paulie dogs]

I think its much more appropriate to use "We" with respect to college teams than professional teams. College teams are just kids out there giving it their all for their school in their own free time (obviously there are exceptions with players just killing time until they can go to the pros). I think that work ethic and drive to be the best for something greater than themselves is very respectable and people can identify with it, and therefore the "We" is much more "acceptable" as most people have worked hard for something in their lives and can empathize. At the pro level there just isn't much to identify with. I just think that when you step back from it and look at it as an outsider, the pros are just a bunch of millionaire celebrities who get to play a game for a living. If you can identify with that great for you, but I think most people cannot and therefore the "We" label is much more of a stretch.

Just my 2 cents.

[Lavabe]

The use of "we" by broadcasters isn't bad because it's homering, it's bad because it reduces their ability to do their jobs.

I know how protective Georgia fans are of Munson, but a lot of that's because he's old (I'm not one for sentimentality); if he worked for anybody else, they'd admit that he's crap at informing listeners of what is actually going on in the game.

I tend to agree with you on the first statement. Having said that, if they're paid by the university, then maybe they are still doing their jobs.

I may be speaking out of line (ugadevil would do better justice), but Munson is more a tradition, a tie to glory days with Dooley, a connection to the history and family of UGA. It isn't even what he says in the games; he just has that avuncular presence. Every time he says anything, it's as though you are listening to him call a Herschel play.

On a further note, Munson is having serious medical issues. I heard on the radio today that he has gone through some extensive surgeries in the last few days. I hope the best for him, and for all the Dawgs out there.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[Wander]

Sports would be close to worthless without fans. Coaches and athletes getting paid millions of dollars who get pissed off when fans use "we" would do well to remember that.

[kmspeaks]

I do not attend Duke University, contribute money to the basketball program, or personally know any of the player or coaches. However I often refer to the team using "we" why, because as a fan I get to share the experience with the team.

Because I'm so happy I can't stand it when we beat Carolina. Because I'm hurt and upset when we lose. Because I feel a sense of loss when a great player graduates or leaves for the NBA. Because I feel a sense of pride when I see what guys like Grant, Carlos, Shane, Luol, etc are doing in the NBA today.

Because TV and the internet allow me to so closely follow "my team" and share season after season with them even though I will probably never have the opportunity to meet most of them. That's why I say we.

[Cameron]

Sports would be close to worthless without fans. Coaches and athletes getting paid millions of dollars who get pissed off when fans use "we" would do well to remember that.

Well stated.

I am neither a graduate of Duke University (I didn't necessarily take high school seriously enough to warrant acceptance, or I would have gone in a heart beat) nor am I a member of the Duke University faculty or staff. However, I have donated plenty of my money to the Blue Devils Basketball program over the years--by way of attending Duke Camps every year as a child, going to numerous games (which, BTW, are far from cheap), and purchasing tons and tons of team clothing and memorabilia since I was a young fan from the Duke Athletic Store--and feel the right to say "we" anytime I please. I've also spent a great deal of my life worrying about Duke lineups and open gym pickup performances, matchups and NCAA seedings, pre and post game discussions, cheering mightily against North Carolina every chance I can get, shedding tears over a March loss, video taping every game we've played on television since I was just ten or eleven years old, etc. I'm sorry if this does not sit well with some, but too bad. The first time I walked into Cameron and met Coach K as a child, I was hooked, and have felt a part of the University and its basketball family ever since. For me, it will always be "we." Duke this or Duke that will slip in from time to time (when approriate), but I always find myself talking about the team like I am apart of it, and I see nothing wrong with that. I love the team.

Some of the best memories of my life have taken place in Durham, on Duke's mythic campus. I have vivid recollections of making my first ever attempt at a Jeff Capel replay shot in the evening shadows of a window-lit Cameron (an experience that literally gave me chills. I felt as if I could still hear the cheers from the original shot echoing through the hallowed stadium), playing 110 degree pick-up on the outdoor courts off Whitford Drive, and spending countless summer days practicing drills in old Card Gym while my childhood heroes looked on from above.

I love Duke University and feel very much apart of it. And I always will.

[RelativeWays]

Most passionate sports fans see their favorite teams as extensions of themselves or their identity, so saying "we" is pretty common whether the team is college or pro. I mean I cheer for the Cubs and Saints and say "we" on occasion when referring to them, but I never played for the Cubs or Saints, nor have I ever lived in NO or Chicago (visited NO though, Chi towns on the list).

[Turk]

wonderful post from Cameron... I certainly wouldn't deny or criticize anyone's right to use the royal "we", with one small reminder: one is obligated to do so even if the basketball gods choose to hand the Devils a string of sub .500 seasons such as happened once or twice in decades gone by... Otherwise, one earns scorn and contempt as a front-running bandwagon-hopper (e.g. your typical Tar Heel fan)

As for me, I choose to be a strictly a third-person "they" or "Duke" or "Devils" linguist. Despite my love for the team, the gym, the school, my time in Durham, the unparalleled success of the program, the game itself, the amount of whatever logowear happens to be on my body or in my closet, the amount of money I may or may not donate, or even if my paycheck says "Duke Univ Payroll", I'm not on the team. Even if I chose them, they didn't choose me.

However artificial it may be, I reserve the "we" for my own teams, be they ever so humble as a bunch of fat old men in a rec league or some raggedy Y somewhere, or one of my kids' teams that I ended up coaching for one reason or another... Duke is "my" team too, but in a different way...

<<insert Teddy Roosevelt's "man in the arena" quote here...>>

I remember the scene in "Field of Dreams" where Moonlight Graham has to step across the foul line to save Ray Kinsella's daughter from choking (geez how melodramatic... I guess that was a "corny" movie... aaarrrggh).

They are different worlds, and I guess I always want to keep that in mind, regardless of how much or how intense the joy or sorrow that comes our way as Duke fans...

"I better be getting home; Estelle might think I have a girl on the side..."
Turk

[CathyCA]

I certainly wouldn't deny or criticize anyone's right to use the royal "we", with one small reminder: one is obligated to do so even if the basketball gods choose to hand the Devils a string of sub .500 seasons such as happened once or twice in decades gone by... Otherwise, one earns scorn and contempt as a front-running bandwagon-hopper

Agreed. I was there with Coach K during the back-to-back 17 loss seasons. I called us "we" then, and I call us "we" now. Having endured the bitterness of those seasons, I find the wins of more recent years that much sweeter.

[Bluedawg]

Well stated.

I am neither a graduate of Duke University (I didn't necessarily take high school seriously enough to warrant acceptance, or I would have gone in a heart beat) nor am I a member of the Duke University faculty or staff. However, I have donated plenty of my money to the Blue Devils Basketball program over the years--by way of attending Duke Camps every year as a child, going to numerous games (which, BTW, are far from cheap), and purchasing tons and tons of team clothing and memorabilia since I was a young fan from the Duke Athletic Store--and feel the right to say "we" anytime I please. I've also spent a great deal of my life worrying about Duke lineups and open gym pickup performances, matchups and NCAA seedings, pre and post game discussions, cheering mightily against North Carolina every chance I can get, shedding tears over a March loss, video taping every game we've played on television since I was just ten or eleven years old, etc. I'm sorry if this does not sit well with some, but too bad. The first time I walked into Cameron and met Coach K as a child, I was hooked, and have felt a part of the University and its basketball family ever since. For me, it will always be "we." Duke this or Duke that will slip in from time to time (when approriate), but I always find myself talking about the team like I am apart of it, and I see nothing wrong with that. I love the team.

Some of the best memories of my life have taken place in Durham, on Duke's mythic campus. I have vivid recollections of making my first ever attempt at a Jeff Capel replay shot in the evening shadows of a window-lit Cameron (an experience that literally gave me chills. I felt as if I could still hear the cheers from the original shot echoing through the hallowed stadium), playing 110 degree pick-up on the outdoor courts off Whitford Drive, and spending countless summer days practicing drills in old Card Gym while my childhood heroes looked on from above.

I love Duke University and feel very much apart of it. And I always will.

very well put, but did you make your "ever attempt at a Jeff Capel replay shot?"

[SupaDave]

I see it quite plain and simple and maybe I can put it in better terms for some of you. You often hear of Duke referred to as a family. A family is composed of many parts - old, young, fast, slow, and even 3rd cousins. The Duke family consists of MORE than just the basketball team, coaches, and students. MUCH more.

See I'm from Durham and the Duke family also includes the landscapers, the facilities maintenance crews, the Duke police, the parking attendents, and the kids who attend camp there yearly. When you leave - these people remain - along with their families and I don't think any of you would deny their right to claim Duke as their 'WE'.

And I don't agree with the poster who said the players didn't choose him. Actually they did choose him - they choose to become a part of the DUKE family and in that they accepted everything that came along with it. That means they chose the Crazies, Coach K, Ninth Street, Hillandale, East Durham, hot summers, cool winters, and yes - even you.

[Lotus000]

WE ARE MARSH... wait.. I meant - We ARE DUKE!!

Oh GAAAAAAHHHH. That 'cheer' makes me want to vomit up Carolina Blue. MARSHALL is the *only* team that should be allowed to do it. I know that G'Town does it (it's their motto this year) and...they sound like a bunch of Johnny-come-latelies (maybe we should get our own midget, daddy!--name that movie).

That being said, I use 'we' all the time. I don't see anything wrong with it. Went to games, K'Ville, school...nothing wrong with it at all. If you're a fan, use 'we.' That simple.

[dukemsu]

Good question. As I did not attend Duke, I try to keep the "We" to a minimum when posting. I do this primarilly because I've heard alumni from other schools (not Duke) derisively refer to people who use "We" who are not alums. No one has ever attacked me on this board nor in chat over my use of we, but this is primarily a force of habit.

I have been heavily emotionally and financially invested in Duke Basketball since I was 7. Example: I begged my dad to take me to the Pontiac Regional in '91, and I remember sneaking down to the edge of the court after the St. John's game to watch Laettner and the guys cut the nets down. Laettner popped his jersey (he was ahead of his time) while looking in our direction (I was near the transplanted Crazies). I certainly felt like We at that point.

So, like many of the other good posts-I most certainly feel every win and loss, and the pride when Duke players become great citizens in whatever field they go into. I think anyone who takes the ride, both when things are good and bad, certainly has the right to say, "We".

Just my opinion.

[blazindw]

The term "we" signifies the emotional investment we may have in a team. I have always referred to my various teams as "we" because I have a serious emotional attachment to them. When my teams win, I walk with an extra bounce in my step. When my teams lose, I'm sluggish and don't feel like doing much. But, no matter what team it is, I feel that no team ever defines the use of the word "we" more than Duke. We are a family. We all rise together with the success, and we commiserate together during the downers. We live with every shot, every rebound, every second that those players are out on the court. I have always used "we", and I feel that we will continue to be a "we" for the rest of our days.

[Cameron]

very well put, but did you make your "ever attempt at a Jeff Capel replay shot?"

Sweetest stroke I've ever seen. When it went through, my cousin immediately ran to the far right corner of the court, got down on the floor like a camera operator, and stomped his feet up and down on the court. True story. Sound familiar?

It was a truly great moment.

[Festus13]

I have been a fan of everything Duke for over 40 years. Unfortunately, I've only been to Duke University on a limited number of occasions. Many of those visits were to simply go to a ballgame of some sorts and root for what has become "my" team! Many a week night or Saturday afternoon, I spent listening to a Duke basketball or football game on the radio while trying to keep the stats at the same time. I've had friends who were Duke fans to the day they died who most certainly included themselves as part of the Duke family and always used the word "we" when describing anything Duke. I would hate for anyone to think that their individual reasons make them more a part of this team than myself or my friends. That would mean that all those Tar Heel fans who've hounded me for years about Duke being a bunch of elitists may be right. While I find parts of this thread to support this elitist attitude, I also find it reassuring that many wonder like I do --- Who has a right to even questions another's inclusion as part of a University?