Visiting fans

[jimsumner]

I think it is easy for us regulars to take CIS for granted. But last night, I was leaving Cameron after the post-games, the interviews, and what-not, an hour after the game ended, and there were still Albany fans on the floor, taking pictures, milling about, just enjoying being at Cameron.

This happens all the time. Eastern Kentucky, New Mexico State, even "big-time" programs like Wisconsin. You can see how delighted visiting fans are to actually be at a place they've seen so many times over the years on TV. We talk about Duke hatred or Duke bias or whatever and I don't deny that it exists. But people really, really like Cameron Indoor Stadium.

[DukeUsul]

This is a great opportunity for me to point out that yeah, all the Albany fans were great, obviously enjoying themselves.... except for the two guys behind me in line for the first floor band-side men's room who were commenting on how long the line was and how the sink would work just as well as a urinal.... :eek:

Anyway, I'm sure they meant it in jest and not as a way of disrespecting the hallowed grounds. All in all the Albany fans seemed genuinely happy to be there.

[DUKIECB]

I had the good fortune of attending the game last night. This was probably my 8th or 9th game in Cameron is the past 3 or 4 years. I live a little over 2 hours from CIS and I relesh every opportunity to be in attendance. I am still in awe every time I am in the arena and I try to take every chance to soak up the atmosphere as best I can.

I only hope all of the Irondukes appreciate what they have and try to attend every game. I know most of them do, but it really stinks to look on Ebay at all those tickets selling for astronomical amounts when true fans who would cheer like crazy are stuck watching at home.

I know it's not a perfect world but it sure would be nice if people who sold or gave their tickets away would try to make sure that the person sitting in their seats really has a passion for Duke and truly wants to be there to cheer on their team.

[hurleyfor3]

This is a great opportunity for me to point out that yeah, all the Albany fans were great, obviously enjoying themselves.... except for the two guys behind me in line for the first floor band-side men's room who were commenting on how long the line was and how the sink would work just as well as a urinal.... :eek:


This reminds me of the funniest thing I ever overheard in a men's room at a sporting event, at the ACC Tournament a few years back:

"You can tell Clempsun's not playin', cuz no one's peeing in the sink."

Spoken in a strong Southern accent... maybe you had to be there.

[dukestheheat]

jimsumner,

this is an excellent point and as a student, i noticed the same thing about cameron; say why you want about duke but in the end, when you're here, you see that it really is a very special place.

cameron breathes.

dth.

[killerleft]

Very few "ancient" basketball arenas left. Cameron certainly can lay claim as one of best in the world.

I've seen well over 100 games there, and I am never surprised, when, at some point, I get goosebumps just thinking about the history of the place and the players and coaches that have walked through the doors.

How many "Indoor Stadium"s are there? It's just a name, but it adds to the mystique of the place.

[arnie]

We're not supposed to pee in the sinks?? Uh Oh!

[SilkyJ]

This is a great opportunity for me to point out that yeah, all the Albany fans were great, obviously enjoying themselves.... except for the two guys behind me in line for the first floor band-side men's room who were commenting on how long the line was and how the sink would work just as well as a urinal.... :eek:

Anyway, I'm sure they meant it in jest and not as a way of disrespecting the hallowed grounds. All in all the Albany fans seemed genuinely happy to be there.

I have shared their sentiment many a time in CIS

My funniest peeing in a sink story has to be freshman year when I was at Parizade's and I walk into the bathroom to find Shav letting it flow right into the sink. Well as I saw this, so did the bouncer standing right outside the bathroom door who immediately jumped into the bathroom to do something about it...until he realized Shav was 6'10", and then he just turned around and went back to his post.

[mepanchin]

Why the hell was Shav pissing in a sink?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

We're not supposed to pee in the sinks?? Uh Oh!

Not in Cameron, but it is hard to stop the masses in Wallace Wade. Oh, wait, it's been a while since we've had masses in WW. That, and the bathrooms, will be different next season! :D

[Richard Berg]

Yeah, I definitely noticed a lot of Albany folks hanging around. I've come to expect it from out-of-conference opponents.

After the game a couple Albany players and several fans/family ended up at the same restaurant where King Taylor and G were eating. Everyone was cordial; the Albany guys in particular seemed in good spirits despite getting drubbed by 41. Nice to see kids recognize it's just a game and enjoy their special experience.

[Mountain Devil]

Not in Cameron, but it is hard to stop the masses in Wallace Wade. Oh, wait, it's been a while since we've had masses in WW. That, and the bathrooms, will be different next season! :D

Hey, the sinks in WW look alot like urinals and, with so few people in the stadium, I'm sure foks haven't realized they'd peed in the sink until they started looking for a place to wash their hands.

[Bluedawg]

I saw some of the women from Utah Valley on press row after the game last night taking pictures.

Cameron Indoor Stadium means a lot.

[hurleyfor3]

How many "Indoor Stadium"s are there? It's just a name, but it adds to the mystique of the place.

I think Singapore has the only other one.

[Richard Berg]

I saw some of the women from Utah Valley on press row after the game last night taking pictures.
They were given great seats too, right behind the basket where DUMB used to be. And my my my, did they have some fine looking players...

[killerleft]

Singapore's Indoor Stadium can only pale by comparison, I'd think. We don't have a copyright on the nomenclature?

[Flyers52]

I'm from Long Island, and a huge Duke fan, so I see them everytime they come up (I'll be at Cameron Square Garden for DUKE-PITT). I had the chance last year to see Duke- San Jose St. on New Years Eve at CIS(my sister got me the tickets for my 21st birthday). To this day she won't tell me how much she spent on them on stubhub, but regardless of the price, it was a priceless experience that I hope to one day take my children to. I hung out for about 1hr-1.5hrs after the game soaking the whole place in, taking pictures, sitting where the crazies sit- it was great. I even got to meet McRoberts, Paulus, and Scheyer. It was an AMAZING experience, and let all the haters hate, but you get shivers when you walk into Cameron- atleast me and my sister did.

[Zeke]

You all make CIS sound like WW Stadium with all this talk of restrooms etc. Do we need to replace both?

[DevilHorse]

I can resonate with the feelings of people who are coming from a school, like Albany to a place like Duke; it is not just Cameron Indoor Stadium they are seeing but the basketball "force" they are experiencing.

Many of the kids at Albany come from downstate where college basketball takes a back seat to the plethora of pro sports that take up the airwaves and newspapers throughout the year, and even during the NCAA tournament. If you are a college basketball fan, you do not understand what it is like to live in a place where college basketball is discussed year round. You don't realize that there are people who have any idea what school is recruiting what athlete for their team. There is an entire subculture there that is ready to feed any college basketball fan, if only they knew it was there.

To show up for a day, read the local newspaper, see the basketball discussion dominate the sports reports, gives a hint at something that any basketball fan from a school like Albany really could only dream about. That makes you want to savor every sliver of it you can before departing.

Coming into the triangle from Albany was basketball culture shock. At least for me, I came down at the beginning of a semester and not just before a big game (with tickets near the floor).

Larry
DevilHorse

[upstateny]

Going in the other direction, from the Triangle area to upstate NY, is to experience serious hoops withdrawal. Miss the food and decent spring weather too.

[DevilHorse]

The horse racing is much better at Saratoga, Vernon Downs, Finger Lakes, Syracuse, or Batavia/Buffalo depending where you are. :)

Larry
Devilhorse

[Bluedawg]

Singapore's Indoor Stadium can only pale by comparison, I'd think. We don't have a copyright on the nomenclature?


http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/singapore/indoor_stadium1.jpg


http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/singapore/indoor_stadium2.jpg

[PDDuke85]

still laughing about Shav whizzing in the sink...
was that the only shot he made that season?

[Jim3k]

I guess, for folks who are visitors or basketball buffs, CIS is hallowed ground. For me, as a student from the 60's, it's just a gym where I hung out, looking for a half court game on the side courts. They were always available when the bleachers were rolled back and the backboards were cranked down.

And "Cameron Indoor Stadium?" Of course not; Eddie himself was often seen walking the place. In the off season, you could actually find pickup games which varsity players would join. Or they might take over one of the baskets for personal practice. The first time I ever heard about a 'lid on it' was while I was watching Jack Marin shooting from the corner and he missed 4 or 5 straight. "Must be a lid on it," he said.

Anyway, for some of us, hallowed today, it was simply the gym where we played rat ball. (Card was usually set up for something else, often badminton. It was a mistake to challenge one of the cage guys to a badminton game in Card. Big, in their 40's or older, and seemingly slower than any 20-year-old, they dominated anyone who dared play them.) For me, it's a great memory. But in those days, Duke Indoor Stadium was a college hangout. It's hard for me to see it as a shrine.

-- Except, of course, when the stands are pulled out, the heat is up, guys wearing white singlets with a royal blue 'Duke' across their front are on the floor and the Pep Band is wailing.

Two of those players were wearing numbers (25, 44) that now hang from the ceiling. Others, like Marin, have their names on the concourse. So I understand it now, after 47 years. But back then...it was a place where sweaty young men entertained themselves after classes.

[Grey Devil]

I guess, for folks who are visitors or basketball buffs, CIS is hallowed ground. For me, as a student from the 60's, it's just a gym where I hung out, looking for a half court game on the side courts. They were always available when the bleachers were rolled back and the backboards were cranked down.

And "Cameron Indoor Stadium?" Of course not; Eddie himself was often seen walking the place. In the off season, you could actually find pickup games which varsity players would join. Or they might take over one of the baskets for personal practice. The first time I ever heard about a 'lid on it' was while I was watching Jack Marin shooting from the corner and he missed 4 or 5 straight. "Must be a lid on it," he said.

Anyway, for some of us, hallowed today, it was simply the gym where we played rat ball. (Card was usually set up for something else, often badminton. It was a mistake to challenge one of the cage guys to a badminton game in Card. Big, in their 40's or older, and seemingly slower than any 20-year-old, they dominated anyone who dared play them.) For me, it's a great memory. But in those days, Duke Indoor Stadium was a college hangout. It's hard for me to see it as a shrine.

-- Except, of course, when the stands are pulled out, the heat is up, guys wearing white singlets with a royal blue 'Duke' across their front are on the floor and the Pep Band is wailing.

Two of those players were wearing numbers (25, 44) that now hang from the ceiling. Others, like Marin, have their names on the concourse. So I understand it now, after 47 years. But back then...it was a place where sweaty young men entertained themselves after classes.

Jim, I was apparently there a little later than you, but I remember doing much the same things as you describe. It was great to be able to play pickup and intramural games in the Indoor Stadium. (Eddie Cameron was definitely seen a lot -- not a name on a sign.)

But I remember playing b-ball in Card, too. One two-on-two game in Card I remember well was when a buddy and I took on two high school guys from Durham who had come around to play. Only after we got royally creamed and while I was walking off the floor did I learn that the shorter guy with the big Afro was named John Lucas, some hot shot prospect that everyone was excited about. I thought he had an unusually good jumper....and was awfully quick.

Grey Devil

[killerleft]

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/singapore/indoor_stadium1.jpg


http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/singapore/indoor_stadium2.jpg

That's pretty, Bluedawg, but it's wearing a funny hat!

[DukePA]

I only hope all of the Irondukes appreciate what they have and try to attend every game. I know most of them do, but it really stinks to look on Ebay at all those tickets selling for astronomical amounts when true fans who would cheer like crazy are stuck watching at home.

I know it's not a perfect world but it sure would be nice if people who sold or gave their tickets away would try to make sure that the person sitting in their seats really has a passion for Duke and truly wants to be there to cheer on their team.

My Mom and Dad have had season tickets for 41 years and are the type of Iron Dukes who will go to great lengths to ensure that real Duke fans use their seats when they are unable to attend. In fact, I drove down from Chicago for the tarhole game one year to use their tickets because my parents were out of the country. My father insisted that he would burn the tickets if I didn't use them because he couldn't risk the remote possibility of chapel hell fans sitting in his seats. For other games, he will give the tickets to friends or to graduate students who don't make it in from the walk-up line.

By the way, I just graduated Duke and was one of the very, very few middle-age students at the graduate school basketball campouts and the Duke-unc campouts. My friends thought I was nuts, but I waited most of my life to be a Cameron Crazy. It was well worth it and I would do it all again.

Go Duke!!!

[dukestheheat]

DukePA-

dude, your parents are wise and have taught you well and i like your dad's thinking on burning those tickets; HOWEVER, IF indeed they can't go and you can't either, write me and i'll gladly go. I, like you, am a former Crazy and I'd love the chance to go and tease the Holes yet again (or, anyone for that matter), thanks, dth.

[Soon2BDukedad]

Just a side note from a dad in NJ whose son is committed to getting to Duke. Over the summer we vactioned in Outer Banks and 11yo son needed to get to see Duke. Made 4 hour plus trip in August. While the floor had just been redone we had to go upstairs. As my son came through the exit and saw inside, he had to sit down for a couple of minutes just to take it all in.

Last saw a reaction from him like this was when he was 3 and saw Christmas tree and presents.

Would love some day to make the trip and see a game with him. Seeing Duke in Garden and Meadowlands is one thing... It goes without saying that CIS is something very, VERY different.

It is a special place...

[Ca Dukie]

My son is a Junior in high school and he spent last summer at Northwestern (my husband's alma mater). In order to undo the Chicago brainwashing, I took him to Duke this past October. Here is the picture I took when he walked into Cameron... (Hope this works)

http://duke.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1459825&id=705675500

Right after this picture was taken, DeMarcus, Jon, and Coach K walked by. My husband thinks this was a recruiting violation :)