ikiru36
02-21-2019, 10:47 AM
Partly to insulate from the sadness and idle speculation regarding last night's gameplay, Zion's knee vigil...etc., I wanted to give props to the crowd last night, and the Student section in particular for doing their part to keep us in the game at all (at least in an impossible to reproduce, maybe there'll be a Louisville Redux kind of way). Of course they had plenty of reason to be hyped up, even without the former President in the house, but they showed some nice creativity and intensity throughout and truly did not give up until the final buzzer.
I camped out for 2 especially cold weeks for the Duke/UNC game my freshman year, a game which we lost, and it sucked. Some of these kids now camped out way longer than that, so I think they deserve their kudos for bringing it, even with last night's bizarre turn of events. Despite the dual (probably more if I cared to think about it) pall over the evening (Zion's bizarre injury less than a minute in, resulting immediately in a layup for UNCs first two points and a lead they would never relinquish, and Duke's repeated inability to catch a break, get a lucky bounce...etc. to create true game pressure on the Cheats), the crowd was roaring in each of the final 10 minutes of the game, including successfully imploring the whole stadium onto its feet on multiple occasions.
I'll let others share similar impressions, if they have them and care to, but a few special moments that deserve to be 'Cam'emorated, if I may (I'm sure there are even better pics out there but these are the ones I was able to take from my vantage point):
1) 44 was there, warmly greeted and treated, and he showed the awe and love back.
9095
2) Sweet moment when a Duke student was allowed to come take a pic with him (this was allowed more than I expected), along with her poster, the embarrassingly bad/good "Hey 44, what's Michelle's favorite vegetable? Barak-oli"
9097
3) The inevitable Duke/Barak 'Yes We Can' posters in the crowd. A resounding chant of "44...more years" and the like resounded at Obama's initial appearance too, as well as when he left.
9099
4) Seeing the former President, in Cameron, singing along with the crowd to the National Anthem, Reggie Love by his side.
9100
5) The less inevitable and beautifully executed "Yes, We Cam!" poster and cheer. During one of Duke's most promising momentum moments, Cam Reddish had a huge basket and got fouled. The crowd erupted, including the entire student section chanting, "Yes, We Cam! Yes, We Cam!" while holding the awesome poster visible in the middle of this pic. Typical of the evening, I think that was the one where the Hole player tried to argue that Cam had committed some kind of flagrant against him 'forcing' the refs to delay the game, chill the crowd, then simply announce "the foul remains as called." Anyways, that chant and poster is worth bringing back again, and if anyone knows where I can get ahold of that poster, please PM me :0)
9098
Ok, I like Obama so YMMV regarding those pics, but the point is how special it was to have a guest as distinguished as the most recent President (George HW Bush's attendance was similarly special, if less ebullient) in the house, and that Cameron rose to the occasion, despite difficult circumstance.
So there's my lemonade of the day, make of it what you will. We are so lucky as Duke fans to get to have moments such as these, even in the more disappointing moments for the program. And if Zion is back healthy by the return game at the house that cheaters built, Luke Maye may rue his Senior Day yet!
I camped out for 2 especially cold weeks for the Duke/UNC game my freshman year, a game which we lost, and it sucked. Some of these kids now camped out way longer than that, so I think they deserve their kudos for bringing it, even with last night's bizarre turn of events. Despite the dual (probably more if I cared to think about it) pall over the evening (Zion's bizarre injury less than a minute in, resulting immediately in a layup for UNCs first two points and a lead they would never relinquish, and Duke's repeated inability to catch a break, get a lucky bounce...etc. to create true game pressure on the Cheats), the crowd was roaring in each of the final 10 minutes of the game, including successfully imploring the whole stadium onto its feet on multiple occasions.
I'll let others share similar impressions, if they have them and care to, but a few special moments that deserve to be 'Cam'emorated, if I may (I'm sure there are even better pics out there but these are the ones I was able to take from my vantage point):
1) 44 was there, warmly greeted and treated, and he showed the awe and love back.
9095
2) Sweet moment when a Duke student was allowed to come take a pic with him (this was allowed more than I expected), along with her poster, the embarrassingly bad/good "Hey 44, what's Michelle's favorite vegetable? Barak-oli"
9097
3) The inevitable Duke/Barak 'Yes We Can' posters in the crowd. A resounding chant of "44...more years" and the like resounded at Obama's initial appearance too, as well as when he left.
9099
4) Seeing the former President, in Cameron, singing along with the crowd to the National Anthem, Reggie Love by his side.
9100
5) The less inevitable and beautifully executed "Yes, We Cam!" poster and cheer. During one of Duke's most promising momentum moments, Cam Reddish had a huge basket and got fouled. The crowd erupted, including the entire student section chanting, "Yes, We Cam! Yes, We Cam!" while holding the awesome poster visible in the middle of this pic. Typical of the evening, I think that was the one where the Hole player tried to argue that Cam had committed some kind of flagrant against him 'forcing' the refs to delay the game, chill the crowd, then simply announce "the foul remains as called." Anyways, that chant and poster is worth bringing back again, and if anyone knows where I can get ahold of that poster, please PM me :0)
9098
Ok, I like Obama so YMMV regarding those pics, but the point is how special it was to have a guest as distinguished as the most recent President (George HW Bush's attendance was similarly special, if less ebullient) in the house, and that Cameron rose to the occasion, despite difficult circumstance.
So there's my lemonade of the day, make of it what you will. We are so lucky as Duke fans to get to have moments such as these, even in the more disappointing moments for the program. And if Zion is back healthy by the return game at the house that cheaters built, Luke Maye may rue his Senior Day yet!