Duke Presents Civilized Alternative to Football

Visitors to Wallace Wade stadium this weekend expecting a hard-fought, physical contest were disappointed by the unusually civilized sporting event on display.

“I came here hoping to see huge, angry men tackling each other,” said Rusty McFearson, a longtime football fan.  “But instead, there were all these skinny people competing alongside each other with no intent to harm or maim.  Frankly, it was disappointing.”

Sports fans were met with a bewildering array of events, but none had any apparent relationship to America’s favorite hard-hitting game.  “There were people jumping into sand, running around in circles, throwing metal balls. Girls even.  What is America coming to?”  Rusty asked. 

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Coach Cut — A Vol Once More

(EDITED POST)

It looks like Coach Cutcliffe’s hiring as the head coach of Tennessee is all but official.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2010/01/newspaper-reports-cutcliffe-hiring-at-tennessee-nearly-a-done-deal/1

If this does turn out to be the case…

Dukies may feel stabbed in the back, but it’s hard to blame Cut for moving back to his roots.  We had trouble shaking the feeeling that Cutcliffe wished Duke was more like Tennessee in stadium capacity and student/fan/administration support anyway.  Regardless, if he thinks he’ll be happier and more comfortable at Tennessee, we can but wish him good luck and move on, hard as that is after two short years of enthusiasm and optimism.

But will this mean the end of a brief era for Duke football?  Not likely.  The current athletic administration is committed to building a popular, successful football program, and we can expect them to look for a coach who is at least as high-profile (and expensive).  How might this change the culture and attitude toward football at Duke?  (What is the culture and attitude toward football at Duke?)  It’s hard to say.

(old links:)
http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11824283
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=110646&catid=2

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How Should I Feel About Duke Football?

We all know Duke Football has been getting a lot of attention recently.  That is, everyone who writes/reads this blog knows.  That is, both of us, you and me, know.  Anyway, not all of it has been positive.  In fact, it’s worth a quick review of the varying types:

1. Overly optimistic hopes/predictions (ACC Champs!  Bowl-bound in 08!) only added to/fueled by our own coaching staff/athletic administration.
2. Angry letters to the editor chiding the student body (“stop going to tailgate and come support our football team!”).
3. Quiet support/excitement (wow, our football team won another game!  Good for them!).
4. Dour responses people mainly keep to themselves so they don’t appear unpatriotic, along the lines of “win a few games and then I’ll support you.”
5. Incessant articles in the Chronic along the lines of “well, basketball season hasn’t started yet, so I guess I’ve got to write about football for the 8th time this week.  Too bad those are the only two sports in existence.”

Now things just jumped up a notch, as Thad Lewis (a Duke football player, for those who are unaware), e-mailed the student body to ask for our support at this Saturday’s game.

In a way-too-long, but actually serious post (you, know, somewhat…), let’s think a bit about what all this means and see if we can’t figure out the real reason that our administrators seem more excited about Duke Football than we do.

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Students Complain About Lack of Support From Football Team

West Campus—Duke students have banded together and begun publishing formal complaints about the lack of support they receive from the football team.

“I’m out there on Tuesday mornings busting my a—, trying to make the grade in Econ 51, and where are they?” said one anonymous freshman. “I’m not asking them to show up for or acknowledge the hours I spend studying on my own in the library.  But on exam day, they need to show up and show their support. We deserve it.”

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Football Game Effectively Ends Tensions Between Duke, NCCU

Wallace Wade—Saturday’s football game between Duke University and North Carolina Central University, coupled with Thursday’s joint pep rally, has effectively ended any and all tensions between the two universities, administrations of both universities concurred Sunday.

“After being in the same general vicinity as Duke students for approximately an hour on Thursday and then watching their football team play against ours, we have revised our previous assumptions about the Duke student body,” NCCU Student Body Government President Jill Manders said, “We no longer believe Duke is composed of only wealthy, privileged, selfish, entitled  white boys. Instead, we now want to get to know Duke students better, possibly by doing community service together at one of Durham’s public schools.”

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