A picture is worth a 1000 words

March Madness at the marine lab

Duke Basketball. Blue Devils. Coach K. Cameron Crazies. March Madness.

These are words I hear constantly at the Duke Marine Lab as everyone takes their basketball team very seriously.  This came as a great shock when I arrived for several reasons: one, I am very disinterested in sports. Two, sports are not very significant on Allegheny campus, and three, basketball is not a sport anyone talks about in western Pennsylvania.  I assume this is because we do not have a professional team, but I am so unfamiliar because of its lack of regional popularity that I do not know any of the terms (is it a goal? point? hoop? score?).

Duke students can be intense at times. During one of my first dinners at the marine lab a handful of students I was sitting next to started to discuss basketball but were not using key words (like basketball), so I was not sure what sport they were discussing.  When I asked to be conversational, I received a response of surprise, disbelief, and strong annoyance.  Similar situations have occurred a couple of times in the future; once because I did not know the coach's name--- meanwhile, I could not name a single coach at Allegheny, which is far from abnormal (at least among my friends).

Basketball is undoubtably core to the "Duke Culture", and as I would be intrigued as a foreigner at, say, Russian customs, I am frequently fascinated and surprised by the fierce passion these students all share for their sports team.  When passively watching the game (I was actually building a puzzle) the other night, I overheard another girl describe how she had been acutely nervous all evening leading up to the game, because the games have that much personal impact on many of them.  Another example of the great commitment is that during games that occur in the winter, the students strip down to almost nothing, paint their entire bodies with blue paint, and wait in line, outdoors, for their tickets. During the game I attended, a dozen of my peers stood outside like this, in approximately 20-30 degree weather for almost two hours.  I was seriously concerned for their safety as I could barely withstand it in my large, warm hoodie.

This basketball activism has seemed to cause both positive and negative outcomes.  It has appeared to serve as a source of bonding for the students, which I witness when they watch the games, discuss the latest trades, or talk about "tenting" (the act of living in a tent for 2-8 weeks for a ticket to the "big game" - the University of North Carolina vs. Duke game).  However, I have noticed some unfortunate outcomes such as the attitude towards rival teams.  It has been a very salient illustration of groupthink in my mind since I have arrived. During the games (I attended the "big game", luckily without having to tent), the Duke students chant several un-sportsman-like phrases at the opposing team that cross a line, in my mind.

Understanding the sports of a large, famous, division one college has provided me insight into the motivations and loves of individuals that seem so similar to me, yet are so different in many ways.  Witnessing the passion they hold for this game has made it clear how certain scandals can occur-- from rape scandals to mass faculty and administration driven cheating incident.  It has also shown me what can bring a group of people together in a way I have never seen.