MD v DUKE

I definitely should have made this post about two days ago, but: THE MARYLAND / DUKE GAME!!!!!

The basketball game on Saturday was my second UMD v Duke game. We lost last year, which just makes this win even more sweet for me. Duke and UNC are probably tied for rivals with UMD, and can we please acknowledge that one of my first full sentences as a child was “we hate Duke but we’ve hated Carolina longer”. I’ve known for my whole life that Duke’s Blue Devils really are devils, and getting to watch the game in person on Saturday was amazing.

I went with two friends, Jon and Tyler, and we ended up standing in the aisle at the bottom of the student section because the stadium was so packed that we couldn’t find three seats together (or any seats by the time we got there). The air was electric; there was an incredible amount of energy in the stands. I screamed until I was hoarse and Tyler tried to carry off chants involving Duke’s coach and STD’s. Or are they STI’s now? Anyway... We had a flash mob dance thing (I don’t really know if it counts as a flash mob but I think that’s what they’ve been calling it?) and the entire student section did the Harlem Shake during half time. It was so crazy, and so much fun.

We stormed the court for the 83-81 win, and even though I’m only 5’3” I managed to make it in and out unscathed. I got elbowed in the face but it didn’t leave a mark so it’s all good! I came out with a flask that I didn’t have going in, too. A couple of older men had joined the students on the court, and one picked up a flask from the ground a few feet away from me, and his friend noticed me and handed it to me saying “Here student, you need this more than we do!” before walking away. A pretty good prize, in my college opinion.

Jon, Tyler, and I missed the majority of the ‘riot’ down Route 1 after the game, and we joined the mob around 9:30 to watch lots of crowd surfing and hear calls of “Show your tits” and “Fuck Duke”. At that point, it seemed like everyone was just waiting for something to happen that was never going to come, so I made it back home by a surprisingly early 11 pm.

I’m so glad that I got a ticket for the game. It was definitely one of my best college experiences so far, and the kind of thing that I hope to be a part of again and again over the next two years before I graduate.

I hope that UMD will schedule games with Duke and UNC out of conference after we officially move over to the Big 10. That was a pretty big concern within the UMD fanbase after the Big 10 announcement was made. My dad told me though that with the way that the ACC was taking in more schools, there would only be a home game with Duke every other year anyway, with one game between us each year. The Big 10 will be a big change for us, but the ACC isn’t what it used to be, either. Hopefully we can develop new rivalries and still keep up the tradition of hating any team in blue that hails from North Carolina!