Something to do in durham for sports withdrawals

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04-19-2021, 10:38 AM
thedukeman

Something to do in durham for sports withdrawals

This is my first year in Durham and I immediately became a big duke fan, mostly because of how fun and competitive the fan base is. Unfortunately, this seems like a tough year to start. I'm only in durham for a few more weeks until i return home for summer and I just need something to get my fix before I go. Is there anything I can do? For reference, I am not a baseball fan but I'd almost be willing to camp out for a night just to see a softball game at duke. I'm a little bitter (especially about missing out on cameron) there isn't a single sporting event at duke I can go at watch.

I'd stream the baseball games and soccer games but I also don't have cable. Does anybody have any ideas for how I can get my fix before I leave? I've watched all the duke documentaries available without paying for cable, I watch nearly every NBA game with a duke player playing, and tried to go to the duke basketball Museum sports and hall of fame but it was closed. Any other things I should do before I leave? Are there any restaurants owned by former duke players? I'm desperate lol
04-19-2021, 01:36 PM
Phredd3

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedukeman

This is my first year in Durham and I immediately became a big duke fan, mostly because of how fun and competitive the fan base is. Unfortunately, this seems like a tough year to start. I'm only in durham for a few more weeks until i return home for summer and I just need something to get my fix before I go. Is there anything I can do? For reference, I am not a baseball fan but I'd almost be willing to camp out for a night just to see a softball game at duke. I'm a little bitter (especially about missing out on cameron) there isn't a single sporting event at duke I can go at watch.

You can actually see softball from outside the stadium. That said, I haven't tried watching a game live from there during the pandemic, and I'm not sure if they are patrolling the hillside. Softball doesn't normally approach attendance that would cause a social distancing concern, but Duke can get squirrely about some things, especially when it comes to sports, so I have no idea if that's really feasible to do. If nothing else, you can always just claim you are taking a break from walking the east campus trail. You will need to be masked anywhere on campus, of course.
04-19-2021, 03:23 PM
budwom

can one still watch the trucks thwack that underpass near East campus? That's worth a folding chair and a beer on a nice afternoon...truckspotting?
04-19-2021, 03:48 PM
YmoBeThere

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedukeman

This is my first year in Durham and I immediately became a big duke fan, mostly because of how fun and competitive the fan base is. Unfortunately, this seems like a tough year to start. I'm only in durham for a few more weeks until i return home for summer and I just need something to get my fix before I go. Is there anything I can do? For reference, I am not a baseball fan but I'd almost be willing to camp out for a night just to see a softball game at duke. I'm a little bitter (especially about missing out on cameron) there isn't a single sporting event at duke I can go at watch.

I'd stream the baseball games and soccer games but I also don't have cable. Does anybody have any ideas for how I can get my fix before I leave? I've watched all the duke documentaries available without paying for cable, I watch nearly every NBA game with a duke player playing, and tried to go to the duke basketball Museum sports and hall of fame but it was closed. Any other things I should do before I leave? Are there any restaurants owned by former duke players? I'm desperate lol

I'm surprised you didn't mention lacrosse...
04-19-2021, 04:49 PM
budwom

Quote:

Originally Posted by YmoBeThere

I'm surprised you didn't mention lacrosse...

that would be great, but I don't think you can attend games at Duke, right? The Corvid and all?
04-19-2021, 06:35 PM
DU82

Quote:

Originally Posted by budwom

can one still watch the trucks thwack that underpass near East campus? That's worth a folding chair and a beer on a nice afternoon...truckspotting?

The bridge was retrofitted a few years ago and raised 8 inches. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it eliminated many of the truck shear-offs. Still gets a few, though. Took the air conditioning units off the top of a long camper a couple of weeks ago.

Here's the great website, 11foot8.com http://11foot8.com/

Note that it's no longer the bridge that decapitates the trucks/campers. It's a steel beam in front of the bridge, so that the bridge doesn't suffer damage from the stupid drivers.

The bridge itself cannot be raised any higher. Trains cannot deal with steep grades (anything much over 1% or so) and so significantly raising the bridge would require long rebuild. In this case, I believe it would affect the downtown at-grade crossings, plus Buchannan on the other side. The 8 inches were obtained by changing the bridge beams to a stronger/shorter steel.

The Campus Drive bridge (Main St. on top) was replaced a couple of years earlier, so it's no longer quite as tight either.
04-20-2021, 05:46 AM
mpj96

Quote:

Originally Posted by DU82

The bridge was retrofitted a few years ago and raised 8 inches. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it eliminated many of the truck shear-offs. Still gets a few, though. Took the air conditioning units off the top of a long camper a couple of weeks ago.

Here's the great website, 11foot8.com http://11foot8.com/

Note that it's no longer the bridge that decapitates the trucks/campers. It's a steel beam in front of the bridge, so that the bridge doesn't suffer damage from the stupid drivers.

The bridge itself cannot be raised any higher. Trains cannot deal with steep grades (anything much over 1% or so) and so significantly raising the bridge would require long rebuild. In this case, I believe it would affect the downtown at-grade crossings, plus Buchannan on the other side. The 8 inches were obtained by changing the bridge beams to a stronger/shorter steel.

The Campus Drive bridge (Main St. on top) was replaced a couple of years earlier, so it's no longer quite as tight either.

Fantastic website. Thanks for the link.

I suppose they could always dig out so the road is deeper, but in these times who wants to take away a popular form of entertainment?
04-20-2021, 08:01 AM
budwom

Quote:

Originally Posted by DU82

The bridge was retrofitted a few years ago and raised 8 inches. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it eliminated many of the truck shear-offs. Still gets a few, though. Took the air conditioning units off the top of a long camper a couple of weeks ago.

Here's the great website, 11foot8.com http://11foot8.com/

Note that it's no longer the bridge that decapitates the trucks/campers. It's a steel beam in front of the bridge, so that the bridge doesn't suffer damage from the stupid drivers.

The bridge itself cannot be raised any higher. Trains cannot deal with steep grades (anything much over 1% or so) and so significantly raising the bridge would require long rebuild. In this case, I believe it would affect the downtown at-grade crossings, plus Buchannan on the other side. The 8 inches were obtained by changing the bridge beams to a stronger/shorter steel.

The Campus Drive bridge (Main St. on top) was replaced a couple of years earlier, so it's no longer quite as tight either.

great update, thanks!

It reminds me of a unc friend of mine, years ago he lent a friend quite a bit of money to get certified as a truck driver, the kind who hauls new cars, eight or so at a time. And on his very first trip, he loaded the cars wrong and demolished several of them, thereby ending his promising career.
04-20-2021, 08:01 AM
GoDuke2004

Durham Bulls and Hurricanes

The Durham Bulls open May 11. Not sure what the COVID protocols will be but historically it’s been fun. Also the Carolina Hurricanes still have a few more games left before the playoffs start and they are allowing socially distanced fans.
04-20-2021, 08:35 AM
DU82

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpj96

Fantastic website. Thanks for the link.

I suppose they could always dig out so the road is deeper, but in these times who wants to take away a popular form of entertainment?

Significant utilities and drainage problems limit that as well.
04-20-2021, 04:45 PM
budwom

Quote:

Originally Posted by DU82

Significant utilities and drainage problems limit that as well.

yeah, that's something of a deep dip, IIRC...
04-21-2021, 03:01 PM
thedukeman

Quote:

Originally Posted by budwom

can one still watch the trucks thwack that underpass near East campus? That's worth a folding chair and a beer on a nice afternoon...truckspotting?

This is incredible lol had no clue this was a thing.
04-21-2021, 03:02 PM
thedukeman

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoDuke2004

The Durham Bulls open May 11. Not sure what the COVID protocols will be but historically it’s been fun. Also the Carolina Hurricanes still have a few more games left before the playoffs start and they are allowing socially distanced fans.

Dood thank you! I am just starting to consistently watch hockey. its a nice offseason interest while college basketball and football is over and nba playoffs havent started. Tickets look cheap too! thx!