28 years ago today... where were you?

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I was dating a girl @ UNC and watch the 2nd half & overtime in her dorm. When Woods hit the last UK shot, I swear every person in that dorm & the surrounding dorms erupted. It was the most gut-wrenching feeling being around all those Tar Heels and their smugness them thinking we'd lost.

But as I watched during the timeout, I said to her that it wasn't over. I remember telling her that I was surprised they'd (UK) called a TO... that they gave us time to figure something out & that it was dumb. This whole time, all you could here was the shouts of joy from the Tar Heel students.

When "the shot" went in, I ran deliriously up & down the outside hallway screaming to the top of my lungs. Their silence was deafening, minus the choice words hurled in my direction. It was the most beautiful sound.

Great memory, but UK did not call the timeout. About three Duke players did simultaneously, as soon as Woods shot banked through....as Len Elmore said..."it went in, okay...but it was a TERRIBLE shot..."

Watching with my cousin, older cousin, who was a big heels fan and graduate. To his credit, he pulled for Duke, as his dad and aunt (my mother) were Duke grads...and he was at my house...Duke territory.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I was there. On the floor in the end zone, approximately ten rows directly behind Grant Hill when he threw the pass. I stood on my chair, so I had approximately the same view as Grant did.

So you were exactly 9 rows behind Jason Evens, who was on the first row (listen to the DBR podcast if you haven't)!

I was at my late friend David's house watching in his living room as we were the year before when we beat UNLV in the FF semifinal game (when UNLV was trying to repeat as overwhelming favorites and be the greatest team ever... not!). Our future ex-wives had gone into the kitchen during that UNLV game because they couldn't take our cussin' when we were behind UNLV. Of course, we came back and beat them, so for all future games, including "the shot" game, they willingly were banished to the kitchen.

[bullettoothtony]

Some great stories. Keep up coming please!

[g4orce]

Great memory, but UK did not call the timeout. About three Duke players did simultaneously, as soon as Woods shot banked through...as Len Elmore said..."it went in, okay...but it was a TERRIBLE shot..."

You are correct, we did call the TO. But in that moment, at that time, I thought they had. Morrison dorm was bedlam and I truly hated being there, but nothing brought me more joy than being there when we won.

[rsvman]

I was living in Carmel, California. I was not a Duke fan at the time. I was, in fact, rooting for Kentucky.

I watched the game when it sure a few days ago.


Man, did the game feel different this time!

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I was a huge Duke fan and in high school and watching at home. I had plans to go out with friends to see White Men Can't Jump, which was just released. When the Duke game went to OT, I told my friends to go without me (I had to call them on their landline telephones). I was watching with my mom and dog. When Laettner hit the shot, I jumped up and down screaming for a few minutes - I was at the 1990 elite 8 game (Christian Laettner's "special" shot) and my reaction was exactly the same, but in a very different environment. My dog thought something was wrong and was barking like crazy. I ended up seeing the movie at a later date.

I am watching a replay of the game as I type this - I still get chills and each time I get something else out of it. Today I am realizing how spoiled we are - not having the score on the screen the whole game is really challenging. I also just noticed that we at least briefly played zone in the second half, which was very, very out of character.

[bigperm13]

My freshman year of high school. Watched the game with my stepdad (RIP) and we stood up the rest of the game after U.K. came back from 67-55. Ran around my neighborhood screaming after The Shot and a hug from him. First game I realized Len Elmore really hated Duke and I couldn’t stand him from that point on. Replay today gave me chills and goosebumps. I needed it.

[AustinDevil]

Senior year. Drunk in Durham. But inspired to drive to Minneapolis a few days later!

[chrishoke]

Nope. American Forces Radio and Television Service so probably the CBS feed. USS Blue Ridge is homeported in Yokosuka, Japan so I was underway in the Pacific Ocean/Philippine Sea.

We all thank you for your service.

I have some very fond memories of listening to Duke football and basketball away games on the radio in the 60's. I'm glad my son got to experience Duke football on the radio in the 90's. He still speaks of those experiences fondly.

[1991 duke law]

Oddly enough - I cannot remember. I remember everything about it - but where I was. But my most vivid memory of the shot - that I will never forget -was the look on T Hill’s face. Shock and amazement.

And I also remember how silly was the shot prior - pure luck- a dumb bank shot that went in but really should not have. Ah - good times.

[AGDukesky]

I had gone to Florida for Spring Break and was flying back to college in Houston. The first leg of the trip landed in Dallas and I met my mother at the airport for lunch. The game had just started and a naively assumed Duke would win without too much of a scare. When I arrived in Houston, I called my roommate to pick me up and he says “The game just went to OT!” I get my luggage and go running around the airport to find a TV. The only one I can find is all the way back down the terminal with a group of 15 people cheering loudly at each made basket and see U.K. is winning by 1 with about a minute left. It is a bit of a blur but I remember the banked in shot by U.K. and thinking it was a b******t shot ( later when I went to Fuqua, Coach K told us the story of the game and asking Grant if he could make the pass and Laettner if he could make the shot, and he referred to the U.K. shot as a “b*******t shot”). Normally I am terrible watching those situations but I stayed confident and watched the ball go in, then went running to find my roommates car. When I almost get outside my roommate comes in and says “you’re paying if I get a ticket because I’m parked illegally!” Lo and behold he has a ticket but I didn’t care. Best $110 I ever spent...

[Kedsy]

I was in the first deck, 20-30 rows above you. I can't believe you didn't say "hi".

Yeah. My bad.

So you were exactly 9 rows behind Jason Evens, who was on the first row (listen to the DBR podcast if you haven't)!

Didn't say hi to him, either. Guess I'm just anti-social.

...as soon as Woods shot banked through...as Len Elmore said..."it went in, okay...but it was a TERRIBLE shot..."

From my angle, we couldn't tell that he'd banked it in. When I saw replays later that night and realized it he banked it, I was outraged (in retrospect) that a stupid shot like that actually went in. I shouted at the TV for some time before they moved on to the next highlight and all was right with the world.

[brevity]

Freshman year. Watched in my fraternity’s commons with about 30 people.

Remember that even after Woods hit the shot to take the lead, no one left. Also remember the dog pile and mass hug after the shot.

Also freshman year. It was maybe an hour before the game started, and I was at the Bryan Center. I noticed that one of those small common areas with a TV (basically an open-area den, I think there were two?) was completely empty. Seemed easier than going back to Central Campus to watch it in my freshman dorm common area, so I stayed. I sat in the middle of the sofa and read or studied for awhile; if CBS was showing a previous game, I don't remember it.

Once the game started, some people joined me in the room, but it was 1992 and making the Final Four felt like a given, so a lot of people just checked in briefly, and were pretty casual and noncommittal about sticking around. It was probably halftime when the room was filled with people who intended to watch the whole thing.

Toward the end of the game, with the outcome in doubt, the room had maybe 50 or more people in or around it, and the other den was about the same. After Kentucky took their last lead, I believe a few of the people peering in from outside the room gave up and left. Most of us sitting or standing inside the room were fairly despondent, but wanted to see the end anyway. When Laettner hit the shot, you could hear simultaneous roars from each den, and large groups of people running out and toward... something? We didn't know where we were going. We ended up converging on the West Campus quads for a very disorganized celebration.

The Class of 1995 had a weird basketball timeline. Duke won its first title during our high school senior year, and most of us got our acceptance letters the very next week. Then the roller coaster: a repeat championship our first year, a second-round loss our second year, a mildly surprising Final Four in Charlotte our junior year, and then annus horribilis as seniors.

[PDDuke85]

An active duty Air Force PA stationed in England, I was in Heidelberg Germany that weekend to take my Re-cert board exam. For the game, I was in the visiting officers quarters watching on Armed Forces Radio and TV, the CBS feed.
While most were asleep, a boisterous “Holy F#%” came from my unsubdued mouth as Laettner made THE shot
I passed my exams BTW

Go Duke

[boomboom93]

In a hotel room in Augusta, GA after my second spring regatta rowing for Duke Men's Crew. I was a junior in college but it was my first year at Duke as I had transferred in from WPI that year. I volunteered to stay behind and help drive the boats home the next day because I knew it was the only way to guarantee I could see the game.
I just remember sitting on the edge of the bed staring in disbelief during the timeout. That was literally the first time I even contemplated the idea that we might not make the Final Four. I mean, we had been the previous 4 years and were ranked #1 that entire 91-92 season despite the 2 losses. The 2nd to last weekend of the regular season we had played at UCLA, who was #2 in the country at the time, and beat them by double digits. This was not possible. Fortunately, before the reality of not getting to the Final Four sank in, Laettner hit the shot and the rest was history. :-)

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Yeah. My bad.



Didn't say hi to him, either. Guess I'm just anti-social.

OG social distancing

[summerwind03]

"In the room where it happened"!

Such a great experience!

[luvdahops]

Watching in the basement of the home of a friend of my then girlfriend's. Pretty sure I didn't make the best impression, especially when we could not put Kentucky away in the second half, and even more so when Woods hit the running, one-handed bank shot to seemingly eliminate us.

[MarkD83]

I was living in Louisiana and my in-laws were visiting so we had to go out to dinner for some cajun cuisine.

I kept excusing myself to go to the restroom (bar to catch the score). Near the end of the game I heard multiple cheers from the bar and did not know who won until I got home and watched the tape.

[Stray Gator]

I was at the Tampa Airport Marriott Hotel, attending my law firm's annual partners' meeting. I watched the game alone in my room (so that I could feel comfortable expressing my emotions with the ebb and flow of the game) until the under-8-minute timeout. Then I went downstairs to join a couple dozen of my colleagues in the lobby bar, where the crowd watching the game left standing room only. After Sean Woods' bank shot fell through, most of the patrons cheered, while I turned to a couple of my colleagues with whom I was standing and tried to calmly shrug it off, commenting that no matter what happened, I was proud of my Blue Devils for a great run and for battling so hard against a Kentucky team that clearly had luck on their side. I was resigned to the loss as I watched Grant Hill loft the pass towards Laettner at the far end of the court.

When The Shot passed through the net, I just remember feeling a sudden surge of adrenaline and realizing that I was jumping up and down, yelling "Yes! Yes! Yes!" like a madman, though only the people within a few feet of me could have heard it over the crowd reaction. One of the two partners beside me -- a dieheard FSU fan -- was laughing out loud and shaking his head in disbelief, slowly repeating "Holy s___. Holy s___" over and over again. Within a few seconds, as soon as it was confirmed that the shot got off in time and Duke had won, I found myself literally leaping and skipping down the length of the corridor that connects the Marriott to the Tampa Airport terminal, where I went directly to the U.S. Air Lines counter and purchased two round-trip tickets to Madison, Wisconsin for my son and me (no flights from Tallahassee to Minneapolis that would be arriving on Thursday or Friday and returning on Tuesday were available by then, so we had to fly through Milwaukee to Madison and drive a rental car from there to Minneapolis and back). Luckily, I already had a pair of Final Four tickets that I had won in the NCAA Lottery. (We used those seats for the semifinal game against Indiana, but then I was able to upgrade to floor level aisle seats behind the Duke Pep Band for the championship game against Michigan. In fact, my son and I showed up briefly on the official CBS video of the game.) Great memories that never fail to bring out the big grins.