New Fanatics

[moonpie23]

I was at Crabtree mall last night...got there at halftime of the game. Had to run in for something.

I came across a group of about 10 kids, obviously together, like a group trip to the mall kind of thing...ages about 10 to 16...4 of them had a LOT of duke gear on...nice duke shirts, shorts, socks.

I always comment to kids "i like that t-shirt/hoodie/whatever, young man" when i see a kid in duke gear. This time, i looked at the group and said , "hey guys only 7-6...we're still in it"...


crickets...


i held up my phone (with my game tracker) and said..."the game!" more blanks looks..."the FOOTBALL game!"...

now, they're looking around at each other like "why is this old guy bothering us?" one of the older guys in the group piped up and said, "oh yeah. the football game (looking at the kids in duke gear) Clemson is playing Duke in football"

"Ooooh," said the other kids with the best "i don't think we could possibly care less" faces...


I said, "you guys got all that duke gear and you don't follow the team?"

one of the kids looked at me and said, "we're ZION WILLIAMSON fans! We just follow ZION. He's not playing till monday."



wow...

[camion]

I was at Crabtree mall last night...got there at halftime of the game. Had to run in for something.

I came across a group of about 10 kids, obviously together, like a group trip to the mall kind of thing...ages about 10 to 16...4 of them had a LOT of duke gear on...nice duke shirts, shorts, socks.

I always comment to kids "i like that t-shirt/hoodie/whatever, young man" when i see a kid in duke gear. This time, i looked at the group and said , "hey guys only 7-6...we're still in it"...


crickets...


i held up my phone (with my game tracker) and said..."the game!" more blanks looks..."the FOOTBALL game!"...

now, they're looking around at each other like "why is this old guy bothering us?" one of the older guys in the group piped up and said, "oh yeah. the football game (looking at the kids in duke gear) Clemson is playing Duke in football"

"Ooooh," said the other kids with the best "i don't think we could possibly care less" faces...


I said, "you guys got all that duke gear and you don't follow the team?"

one of the kids looked at me and said, "we're ZION WILLIAMSON fans! We just follow ZION. He's not playing till monday."



wow...

I only have one thing to say to them.


STAY OFF MY LAWN!!

[Bluedog]

Frankly, I welcome anybody who wants to cheer for Duke, even if it's just for basketball. We get enough hate from the masses that the more people we can get on our side, the better. And hey if it's just because of Zion, then hats off to Zion! I can appreciate where you're coming from though.

[elvis14]

A player like Zion being popular with younger fans can help to create a lot of new Duke fans. Some will leave with Zion but some will stick. Considering the amount of hate we get in NC, I'd rather have a few Zion bandwagon fans than a state full of hate.

[AGDukesky]

A player like Zion being popular with younger fans can help to create a lot of new Duke fans. Some will leave with Zion but some will stick. Considering the amount of hate we get in NC, I'd rather have a few Zion bandwagon fans than a state full of hate.

Yeah, plus many UNC fans only started cheering for that team because of what Jordan did as an NBA player. This is 100 times better...

[elvis14]

Yeah, plus many UNC fans only started cheering for that team because of what Jordan did as an NBA player. This is 100 times better...

I agree, this better because it's people cheering for Duke b/c of what Zion is doing at Duke, not in the NBA.

[JNort]

I was at Crabtree mall last night...got there at halftime of the game. Had to run in for something.

I came across a group of about 10 kids, obviously together, like a group trip to the mall kind of thing...ages about 10 to 16...4 of them had a LOT of duke gear on...nice duke shirts, shorts, socks.

I always comment to kids "i like that t-shirt/hoodie/whatever, young man" when i see a kid in duke gear. This time, i looked at the group and said , "hey guys only 7-6...we're still in it"...


crickets...


i held up my phone (with my game tracker) and said..."the game!" more blanks looks..."the FOOTBALL game!"...

now, they're looking around at each other like "why is this old guy bothering us?" one of the older guys in the group piped up and said, "oh yeah. the football game (looking at the kids in duke gear) Clemson is playing Duke in football"

"Ooooh," said the other kids with the best "i don't think we could possibly care less" faces...


I said, "you guys got all that duke gear and you don't follow the team?"

one of the kids looked at me and said, "we're ZION WILLIAMSON fans! We just follow ZION. He's not playing till monday."



wow...

To be fair once a college team has lost 3 games I consider them irrelevant for the most part and quit watching. I despise college football regular season because unless you keep it at 2 losses or less you have no shot at a ship. Makes the whole season dull to me.

[NSDukeFan]

The only reason I follow Duke football is because of this site and its posters.

[wavedukefan70s]

To be fair once a college team has lost 3 games I consider them irrelevant for the most part and quit watching. I despise college football regular season because unless you keep it at 2 losses or less you have no shot at a ship. Makes the whole season dull to me.

Unless your ucf...

[wavedukefan70s]

I was at Crabtree mall last night...got there at halftime of the game. Had to run in for something.

I came across a group of about 10 kids, obviously together, like a group trip to the mall kind of thing...ages about 10 to 16...4 of them had a LOT of duke gear on...nice duke shirts, shorts, socks.

I always comment to kids "i like that t-shirt/hoodie/whatever, young man" when i see a kid in duke gear. This time, i looked at the group and said , "hey guys only 7-6...we're still in it"...


crickets...


i held up my phone (with my game tracker) and said..."the game!" more blanks looks..."the FOOTBALL game!"...

now, they're looking around at each other like "why is this old guy bothering us?" one of the older guys in the group piped up and said, "oh yeah. the football game (looking at the kids in duke gear) Clemson is playing Duke in football"

"Ooooh," said the other kids with the best "i don't think we could possibly care less" faces...


I said, "you guys got all that duke gear and you don't follow the team?"

one of the kids looked at me and said, "we're ZION WILLIAMSON fans! We just follow ZION. He's not playing till monday."



wow...

I cant hate them.i do the same with AJ green,byron Maxwell, Carlos Dunlap and Robert quinn.very good NFL players from my town.quinn had some health issues but it's amazing most played against each other at two rival highschools.some of the most phenomenal highschool football I have ever seen in person.

[elvis14]

The only reason I follow Duke football is because of this site and its posters.

Same here and it's been really fun seeing the difference before/after the arrival of Coach Cut. Really respect what he's done here.

[budwom]

Can't explain why, but some of us have been ardent football fans even thru The Dark Days. What I like now compared with Duke hoops is that you get to see guys develop over the course of 4-5 years.
Don't see much of that on the hardcourt any more. Guys come in, are essentially gone in five months.

[Son of Jarhead]

Can't explain why, but some of us have been ardent football fans even thru The Dark Days. What I like now compared with Duke hoops is that you get to see guys develop over the course of 4-5 years.
Don't see much of that on the hardcourt any more. Guys come in, are essentially gone in five months.

I can't speak for every long-time Duke football fan, but with Duke alum/Duke employee parents, I was born into it.

As a little kid in the 60's, my parents took me and my sibs to every basketball, football, and baseball game. My mom, Duke Class of '46, first started following Duke after meeting the real Crash Davis (Duke Class of '38, I think?) when he was playing summer baseball in her hometown of Rutland, VT. (Apparently, all the girls in Rutland thought he was real cute.) And my dad, Duke Class of '53-'59 (he started with '53 class following a stint in the Marine Corps, but got recalled to serve in Korea, so he finished in '59), started following Duke football on the radio while growing up in Brooklyn & Alexandria. Wallace Wade had the Devils prominent nationally. Dad came up to games from Camp Lejeune when he was stationed there.

I'd guess I haven't missed but a hand full of football games since the late 60's. I've been blessed to attend men's basketball games all these years too. I welcome anybody who wants to join me in cheering for the Blue Devils in any sport, the more the merrier, but growing up in Durham was really lonely for a big Duke fan.

You're spot on with the comparison. I have always enjoyed getting to know the players over 4-5 years. I miss that with many basketball players.

[PackMan97]

Blue blooded problems...

...although I did have an ex-con come up to me and tell me he cheered for State because of...oh never mind. You guys wouldn't understand.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Frankly, I welcome anybody who wants to cheer for Duke, even if it's just for basketball. We get enough hate from the masses that the more people we can get on our side, the better. And hey if it's just because of Zion, then hats off to Zion! I can appreciate where you're coming from though.

I agree, and we'll get a zillion new fans due to Zion. Then again, we'll be renting those fans for five months....many will be gone to the next shiny thing after Zion leaves.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

The only reason I follow Duke football is because of this site and its posters.

Really? Interesting. This site is certainly best way to keep up with them. As for me, in addition to liking the idea of getting to know the players over 3-4-5 years, I like the novelty of Duke being somewhere between mediocre and pretty darned good....this after 40 years of being somewhere between really bad and being the absolute worst program in the country.