PDA

View Full Version : More School Colors in the Stands



blazindw
11-14-2007, 10:46 AM
So, watching the game the other night, I was really noticing a growing number of people in the stands that were wearing colors other than our school colors (Blue, White, and sometimes Black). By non-school colors, I'm not talking about grey, which is the color of many Duke t-shirts. I'm talking about the random color Duke shirts that are now being sold in the Duke Store: yellow, neon green, hot pink, etc. Now, everyone here knows that I am the first person to express individuality, especially as part of the Crazies or the Wackos. However, I think it wouldn't hurt to less of the off-color shirts in the stands and more of the traditional school colors of Blue and White (and Black).

Having visited other schools for athletic events, one thing I think is awesome is that EVERYONE wears the school colors. I was in Austin last weekend for the Texas-Texas Tech game...everyone was in Texas Orange (and even the Tech fans were in their black and red). I went to a USC game, and even though it sucked, everyone was rocking the Trojan Red. At Michigan, you will see nothing but a sea of maize and blue. Even at Tha U, orange and green dominate the stands. Here, there are some people who will wear baby blue Duke shirts to the Carolina game, or red Duke shirts when Maryland comes to town. I feel like no team should walk into Cameron and see anything remotely resembling their school, save for the 100 or so people directly behind their bench. A sea of Duke Blue, White and Black will only add to the intimidation that is a road game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. (Note: This is also a big problem at football games, probably more of a problem than at basketball games. I just want our boys and girls to go into battle knowing that there is a sea of people that they can visibly see supporting them)

So, I guess my point is that I would love to see people, when they come out to the games, make a valid attempt to wear a Duke shirt or jersey that is of our school colors. I love creativity and individuality, but I also think that you can wear the school colors without hampering that creativity we all love so much.

Thoughts anyone?

Indoor66
11-14-2007, 10:49 AM
So, watching the game the other night, I was really noticing a growing number of people in the stands that were wearing colors other than our school colors (Blue, White, and sometimes Black). By non-school colors, I'm not talking about grey, which is the color of many Duke t-shirts. I'm talking about the random color Duke shirts that are now being sold in the Duke Store: yellow, neon green, hot pink, etc. Now, everyone here knows that I am the first person to express individuality, especially as part of the Crazies or the Wackos. However, I think it wouldn't hurt to less of the off-color shirts in the stands and more of the traditional school colors of Blue and White (and Black).

Having visited other schools for athletic events, one thing I think is awesome is that EVERYONE wears the school colors. I was in Austin last weekend for the Texas-Texas Tech game...everyone was in Texas Orange (and even the Tech fans were in their black and red). I went to a USC game, and even though it sucked, everyone was rocking the Trojan Red. At Michigan, you will see nothing but a sea of maize and blue. Even at Tha U, orange and green dominate the stands. Here, there are some people who will wear baby blue Duke shirts to the Carolina game, or red Duke shirts when Maryland comes to town. I feel like no team should walk into Cameron and see anything remotely resembling their school, save for the 100 or so people directly behind their bench. A sea of Duke Blue, White and Black will only add to the intimidation that is a road game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. (Note: This is also a big problem at football games, probably more of a problem than at basketball games. I just want our boys and girls to go into battle knowing that there is a sea of people that they can visibly see supporting them)

So, I guess my point is that I would love to see people, when they come out to the games, make a valid attempt to wear a Duke shirt or jersey that is of our school colors. I love creativity and individuality, but I also think that you can wear the school colors without hampering that creativity we all love so much.

Thoughts anyone?

I agree with you on the colors except that black is NOT a Duke color.

bdh21
11-14-2007, 11:00 AM
I was at the G'town game last weekend. Every student had the same gray tshirt. While that may have been visually impressive the 1000+ students were dead for most of the game. There may have been 5 possessions where the gtown students were up to par with a the crazies on a typical defensive possession. I think the visual contribution of a fan base is less important that its oral contribution.

I always thought that the various bizarre getups of the crazies are effective not because they intimidate the opposing players in any way, but because they pump up the crazies even more. In other words it doesn't matter if they wear green or purple or nothing at all as long as they are LOUD.

blazindw
11-14-2007, 11:26 AM
I agree with you on the colors except that black is NOT a Duke color.

I agree with you. However, black is the color of one of our jerseys (in fact, one of the most popular selling jerseys in America, despite America's general hatred for everything Duke). It may not be a school color, but it's a predominant color in all our jerseys. It's not going anywhere. That's why I threw that out as a color. When I was in Cameron, I wore black just as much as I wore blue and white. I like the black unis, call me crazy, but I do. But I agree it's not an OFFICIAL school color.


I always thought that the various bizarre getups of the crazies are effective not because they intimidate the opposing players in any way, but because they pump up the crazies even more. In other words it doesn't matter if they wear green or purple or nothing at all as long as they are LOUD.

I agree with that. But I don't think Crazies or Wackos will put on a blue Duke shirt and become quieter. I think they'll be just as loud as they normally are. Like I said, creativity, originality, and all the other things that make our student sections great don't have to be compromised, and I think that if everyone wore blue and white (and yes, even black), that should not compromise any of those things.

merry
11-14-2007, 11:35 AM
I like to wear a Duke t-shirt (preferably Duke blue) to games, but recently I saw some game footage from my era as a student (the Bill Foster years) and I noticed there didn't seem to be any attempt by the student crowd to wear school colors. Is "everyone wearing the colors" a fairly recent sport phenomenon or have Duke fans always been the outliers?

Anyway, given my status as an old timer I reserve the right to wear peach, green or cranberry colored shirts just like I apparently did 30 years ago. I'll wear bell bottoms too, if I feel like it.

cf-62
11-14-2007, 12:18 PM
I like to wear a Duke t-shirt (preferably Duke blue) to games, but recently I saw some game footage from my era as a student (the Bill Foster years) and I noticed there didn't seem to be any attempt by the student crowd to wear school colors. Is "everyone wearing the colors" a fairly recent sport phenomenon or have Duke fans always been the outliers?

Anyway, given my status as an old timer I reserve the right to wear peach, green or cranberry colored shirts just like I apparently did 30 years ago. I'll wear bell bottoms too, if I feel like it.

ACTUALLY, one of the fun things about Cameron is that nobody WORE the school colors. People would come in Dolphins garb, random T-shirts, white, black, grey, blue, green - didn't matter. In fact, as blazin pointed out, there were lots of shirts that WEREN'T the colors.

My wife has a pink Duke shirt she liked to wear. The book store actually sold some really weird colored basketball t-shirts, too. The "everyone in one color" thing is impressive, especially in football. But I think it adds to the Crazie lore / mystique (whatever you want to call it) that we're completely random.

DukeUsul
11-14-2007, 01:07 PM
I kinda always liked the fact that we did not all wear the same color. It always seemed kind of lame when everyone at Mich St is wearing a white and green "Izzone" shirt..... something that is at many schools organized by the atheletic department ("come join our awesome athletics club, get a free t-shirt... oh and if you can't make a game, make sure a professor signs your absence excuse form"). I never really thought Duke needed that. The Crazies are some kind of weird self-organizing communal organism.

Although interestingly, my wife noted that there was an article or letter in the Chronicle last week exhorting students to wear more Duke Blue... and when we watched the NMSU game the other night, she and I both noticed that there seemed to be a lot more Duke Blue in the stands. I think I only noticed one lone yellow shirt on the TV side.

SilkyJ
11-14-2007, 01:45 PM
Thoughts anyone?

Agreed. As a past HLM y don't u email the current one and try and get them to get the students to do that...I'd do it, but I wasn't a LM, just a crazy (tan jacket on the non-tv side, anyone???)


I agree with you on the colors except that black is NOT a Duke color.

also agreed. and while donald responded and admitted its not an OFFICIAL color, I would still say that if we are going to encourage the students to wear certain colors, lets just encourage Blue & White

Cameron
11-14-2007, 01:46 PM
I've noticed this as well. I would definitely like to see a sea of Duke Blue in the crowd more often. In my "Rivalry In Blue" poster, there is hardly any blue at all, and it wasn't one of our "white out" games, either. I still love the poster, but it would look a lot nicer with pure blue in the stands. Just my take on things, though.

And if any kid is wearing Miami Dolphin garb to Cameron, they shouldn't be allowed in.

throatybeard
11-14-2007, 01:51 PM
A lot of folks in this thread and in previous iterations of this discussion have unfairly/inaccurately conflated "wearing team colors" with "everybody wearing the exact same university-distributed t-shirt"

Take a look at the UGA thread on the OT board to see the impact of crowd color-synergy. It doesn't make everyone a Wake Forest-style zombie nation clone.

Jarhead
11-14-2007, 02:05 PM
I like the diversity of multi-colored clothing on the crazies. It does set our student fans apart from the bland monochrome of other arenas. Whatever happened to Speedo man?

snowdenscold
11-14-2007, 02:08 PM
I agree with Donald.

What really irked me was a couple years ago when I was talking with this girl I knew who was about to go to a game wearing a pink shirt with DUKE written on it. I asked her "why pink?!" and she replied so she'd be more easily seen on TV.

While creativity to get on TV is one thing, doing so in the context of supporting your school by wearing appropriate colors is also important.

I have no problem with a mix of blues, white, grey, black, etc. But pink....

Ima Facultiwyfe
11-14-2007, 02:09 PM
I noticed last year we had more of the "enemy" infiltrating the student sections wearing their own colors. When that happens, the beautiful sea of Duke Blue simply becomes a backdrop where they really stand out. To make matters worse, the Crazies often pointed them out to everybody which also helped their cause.

So, as beautiful as that sea appears on TV, there are definitely drawbacks.

The nation of baby blue sheep in the Dean Dome seems to relish its uniformity and sheep rarely have original thoughts of their own. (Bless their hearts.)

Of course when in other venues it's really helpful to wear our colors so we can identify each other more readily, support each other and let the team see we are all there. It's just that in Cameron it's not necessary.

So, in my mind its "Vive la difference!" As Coach K said at halftime of the blue/white game, we don't want to be what others are. We want to just be Duke because that's when we're the best.

Love you guys,
Ima

wisteria
11-14-2007, 02:11 PM
I like the diversity of multi-colored clothing on the crazies. It does set our student fans apart from the bland monochrome of other arenas. Whatever happened to Speedo man?

I guess I came to Duke too late that I don't even know who Speedo Man was. But I read about him on dukeblueplanet. In our earlier game vs. Barton College, there was this guy hidden in the middle of the graduate student section, right behind the basket. When BC took their first FT, all the graduate student suddenly crouched down, leaving that topless guy doing a weird but hilarious dance. (That FT didn't go in, to everyone's pleasure.)

Ima Facultiwyfe
11-14-2007, 02:12 PM
I was Carrawell the other day, then I was Elton, now I notice I'm back to being Chris. This must be the new math.:confused:
Love, Ima

Ima Facultiwyfe
11-14-2007, 02:15 PM
What is this, Russion Roulette?
Love, Ima

gvtucker
11-14-2007, 02:18 PM
I like the diversity of multi-colored clothing on the crazies. It does set our student fans apart from the bland monochrome of other arenas. Whatever happened to Speedo man?

Count me among those who likes the fact that Cameron is not a sea of one color or another.

As far as Speedo Man is concerned, he wasn't there on Monday, bu there was a guy who looked like a half naked Swiss mountain climber that did the Speedo Man thing admirably.

DukeUsul
11-14-2007, 03:02 PM
A lot of folks in this thread and in previous iterations of this discussion have unfairly/inaccurately conflated "wearing team colors" with "everybody wearing the exact same university-distributed t-shirt"

Take a look at the UGA thread on the OT board to see the impact of crowd color-synergy. It doesn't make everyone a Wake Forest-style zombie nation clone.

If we're talking about wearing blue, white, black, and gray (which I believe DW excepted in his list of team colors) then I'm not sure what the issue is. Looking at the crowd at the NMSU game, that's mostly what I saw.... and it was much more heavily weighted toward Duke Blue than ever (as opposed to Navy, which is also very common). Too bad I already deleted the game off the DVR to go back and check.....

MulletMan
11-14-2007, 03:03 PM
I like the diversity of outfits as much as anyone... however, I loathe the goofy colored DUKE shirts that exist. Possibly my most hated on is the yellow sweatshirt with the blue lettering. I guarentee that at least two people wear this exact item to the Michigan game. Mark it down.

As for Speedo Guy, well, those things should come along once in a while or they get over done and everyone expects them. Speedo Guy occured twice. And I believe that's how it will remain.

Cameron
11-14-2007, 03:34 PM
Still have speedo guy in my Duke Libary. It was absolutely hilarious when he came out for the first time. I believe it was against Carolina, in 2003 or 2004. Could be wrong, though.

BTW, Am I the only one who records our games and keeps every game tape? I hope I'm not the only nut who does this:) It's just always been a hobby of mine, and that way I can rewatch any game I want during the off season. I also used to tape every NCAA Tournament in its entirety, so I could have Summer March Madness. Okay, I might be a a little bit of a dork:) But, hey, it's the greatest sport in the world.

BluDevilGal
11-14-2007, 04:46 PM
Looking at the crowd at the NMSU game, that's mostly what I saw.... and it was much more heavily weighted toward Duke Blue than ever (as opposed to Navy, which is also very common).

Yeah, I thought it was much more Duke Blue than normal... I just assumed there must have been a tshirt give away right before the game... but maybe it was just coincidence.

I'll chime in and agree with those who enjoy the individuality of the Crazies' attire. I would have hated being told what to wear. It's all about creativity and the elements of surprise and distraction. :-)

Oh dear, are we getting into the black uniform argument again? :p They look nice, so it doesn't really bother me that it's not an official color. But that's just my humble opinion on a matter that will never be peaceably resolved. :-)

SilkyJ
11-14-2007, 05:18 PM
Still have speedo guy in my Duke Libary. It was absolutely hilarious when he came out for the first time. I believe it was against Carolina, in 2003 or 2004. Could be wrong, though.

BTW, Am I the only one who records our games and keeps every game tape? I hope I'm not the only nut who does this:) It's just always been a hobby of mine, and that way I can rewatch any game I want during the off season. I also used to tape every NCAA Tournament in its entirety, so I could have Summer March Madness. Okay, I might be a a little bit of a dork:) But, hey, it's the greatest sport in the world.

Um...how far are you from the bay area and can I come over?

throatybeard
11-14-2007, 06:38 PM
I wonder if there are any other I-A schools in the country at which the fans think wearing school colors is lame.

blazindw
11-14-2007, 07:01 PM
What really irked me was a couple years ago when I was talking with this girl I knew who was about to go to a game wearing a pink shirt with DUKE written on it. I asked her "why pink?!" and she replied so she'd be more easily seen on TV.

While creativity to get on TV is one thing, doing so in the context of supporting your school by wearing appropriate colors is also important.

I have no problem with a mix of blues, white, grey, black, etc. But pink....

This is what I was getting at...the people who wear some random color just to stand out on TV. When I was there, all I would need to wear to stand out is a headband. It didn't matter where I was in the stands, my parents and friends always could find me because of the headband (and it sort of became a staple of my Crazie-ness). Mullet Man wears the glasses, wig and headband. Viking Guy wore a helmet with a Wojo jersey. Krzyzew's Chefs wear white aprons. All are original ideas that are world famous, but they seem to stay in Duke Blue. Even Speedo Guy was in a blue speedo. I was just mentioning my hope that we could see more blue and white (and even black and grey). I don't think it would detract from the creativity and uniqueness of the Crazies (something I wholeheartedly believe in). However, as Mulletman and a couple others said earlier, it irks me when people wear the colors of the opposing team, even if it says "Duke" on the front of the shirt.

I'm not about a sea of just Duke Blue, but a melting pot of blue, white, black, and grey does the trick just the same while still allowing students to maintain their creative sides.

Seems like there's a pretty even split on the issue. That's partly why I didn't email the new HLM about it. But I still think that through all of our creativity, we can still encourage (not demand) that everyone who comes to sport one of the official or unofficial colors. Just my opinion.

DukeUsul
11-14-2007, 07:18 PM
I'm not about a sea of just Duke Blue, but a melting pot of blue, white, black, and grey does the trick just the same while still allowing students to maintain their creative sides.



I agree with this absolutely. My contention is that unless I'm missing something (or not paying attention) the above is what I'm seeing. The other night, with the lone exception of some freak wearing yellow, I saw overwhelmingly white, Duke blue, navy blue, gray and black. I do not want to see us moving toward something like the Izzone (what is this whole Inferno thing I've seen around, is anyone actually joining that?) - because THAT would be lame.

Jumbo
11-14-2007, 09:13 PM
I was Carrawell the other day, then I was Elton, now I notice I'm back to being Chris. This must be the new math.:confused:
Love, Ima

The players relate to the number of posts you've made. Each is significant to that given player for a particular reason.

Jumbo
11-14-2007, 09:16 PM
So, watching the game the other night, I was really noticing a growing number of people in the stands that were wearing colors other than our school colors (Blue, White, and sometimes Black). By non-school colors, I'm not talking about grey, which is the color of many Duke t-shirts. I'm talking about the random color Duke shirts that are now being sold in the Duke Store: yellow, neon green, hot pink, etc. Now, everyone here knows that I am the first person to express individuality, especially as part of the Crazies or the Wackos. However, I think it wouldn't hurt to less of the off-color shirts in the stands and more of the traditional school colors of Blue and White (and Black).

Having visited other schools for athletic events, one thing I think is awesome is that EVERYONE wears the school colors. I was in Austin last weekend for the Texas-Texas Tech game...everyone was in Texas Orange (and even the Tech fans were in their black and red). I went to a USC game, and even though it sucked, everyone was rocking the Trojan Red. At Michigan, you will see nothing but a sea of maize and blue. Even at Tha U, orange and green dominate the stands. Here, there are some people who will wear baby blue Duke shirts to the Carolina game, or red Duke shirts when Maryland comes to town. I feel like no team should walk into Cameron and see anything remotely resembling their school, save for the 100 or so people directly behind their bench. A sea of Duke Blue, White and Black will only add to the intimidation that is a road game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. (Note: This is also a big problem at football games, probably more of a problem than at basketball games. I just want our boys and girls to go into battle knowing that there is a sea of people that they can visibly see supporting them)

So, I guess my point is that I would love to see people, when they come out to the games, make a valid attempt to wear a Duke shirt or jersey that is of our school colors. I love creativity and individuality, but I also think that you can wear the school colors without hampering that creativity we all love so much.

Thoughts anyone?


Count me against this. There was a movement a number of years ago on DBR (I'm thinking around 2000) that was the antithesis of this. The ideas was "more random in Cameron." Someone on the board actually bought a gorilla costume, and then it got passed around among members of the board. Sometimes it was in the student section, sometimes it was upstairs, but it was just totally random and funny.

One of the things that makes Cameron unique is the random atmosphere. Dressing the same is cookie-cutter. I'd rather have people do all sorts of random, Crazy stuff then have everyone in blue.

weezie
11-14-2007, 09:42 PM
given my status as an old timer I reserve the right to wear peach, green or cranberry colored shirts just like I apparently did 30 years ago. I'll wear bell bottoms too, if I feel like it.

You hippy, you! See if you can rustle up a pair of earth shoes to go with those bell bottoms, and maybe a headband....:p

hc5duke
11-15-2007, 04:10 AM
I was Carrawell the other day, then I was Elton, now I notice I'm back to being Chris. This must be the new math.:confused:
Love, Ima

Here's my guess:

Carrawell - 105 steals
Elton - 113 blocked shots
Carrawell - 114 blocked shots

Cameron
11-15-2007, 09:51 AM
Um...how far are you from the bay area and can I come over?

Anytime. Unfortunately, I live much closer to Lake Erie.

Ima Facultiwyfe
11-15-2007, 10:05 AM
Here's my guess:

Carrawell - 105 steals
Elton - 113 blocked shots
Carrawell - 114 blocked shots

...but, now I'm back to "Bench Warmer". I may never figure this one out. I guess I should just give my senior citizen brain a rest and go bake the pies for Thanksgiving.:rolleyes:

Love, Ima

10B13
11-15-2007, 01:39 PM
A new legend is born.
Lederhosenman is a worthy successor to Speedoman.
The New Mexico State player missed his freethrown.:cool:

LetItBD08
11-15-2007, 05:33 PM
So did the NCCU player the game before. Anybody know what Speedoman's free throw defense percentage was?

blazindw
11-15-2007, 06:10 PM
So did the NCCU player the game before. Anybody know what Speedoman's free throw defense percentage was?

No one has ever hit a shot on Speedo Guy. So, his defense percentage is 100%, and opponents' shooting percentage is 0%.

merry
11-16-2007, 09:15 AM
I wonder if there are any other I-A schools in the country at which the fans think wearing school colors is lame.

Do you think there is a correlation between this and not being a football school? People keep saying the big football stadiums look so cool with all the fans wearing the same color, but I wouldn't know since all I can see are the white/silver of the empty seats.

monkey
11-16-2007, 11:20 AM
The players relate to the number of posts you've made. Each is significant to that given player for a particular reason.

Is there a full list somewhere?

Capn Poptart
11-16-2007, 11:33 AM
I wonder if there are any other I-A schools in the country at which the fans think wearing school colors is lame.

Ahhh. So the answer is to wear Duke/royal/navy blue, and thus stand out!