"My name is Zachary Davis, and I am a sportsaholic." Those were the words with which I began my essay on my Duke application more than four years ago. I went on for two pages about the "disease" that had consumed my life, and how I thought it would make me a natural fit at Duke University.
I had no idea how right I was.
Now, preparing to leave the University, I am amazed at what a large part of my Duke life sports has consumed. Sure, camping out for, attending and covering games represents a part of that devotion. Throw in the year I spent as the Duke Blue Devil, and you get a better idea. But there's more, because it's not just my individual devotion to Duke athletics that makes up sportsaholism-sports obsession runs rampant on this campus like an epidemic. Sports here are not an activity, not a pastime. At Duke, sports is culture.
I don't believe there is anywhere else in America where students feel as connected to the athletic environment as on this campus. You can talk about devoted fans at other schools, or for professional teams in other cities, but the kinship which Duke students feel with the basketball team is virtually unparalleled. We live, we celebrate and we mourn with the fortunes of the 12 fellow students skilled enough to represent us.
There is no doubt that Cameron Indoor Stadium serves as the Mecca for the religion that is Duke basketball. But I feel that the fervor extends beyond Cameron's walls. The entire community takes up with the team-in classes, around campus and, most importantly, in dorms among friends.
What I will treasure most about my Duke experience are the numerous close friendships I've had the chance to develop. And in 90 percent of those relationships, sports was what brought me and my friends together. Between fantasy basketball of freshman year and fantasy football of senior year came so many arguments and debates, gentlemen's bets (okay, some were for money), pickup games, camp-outs and Tournament pools that fostered the strong friendships I will have for the rest of my life.
Maybe it's hard for the average reader to understand how deep sportsaholism runs among myself and my peers. But the sickness isn't easy to experience alone. I'm talking about people who can't watch Duke basketball games in public places, because they get so worked up they begin to scream and throw things; about a person who, if there's a New York Mets game being played that isn't on television, will sit and reload Netscape for hours to follow the game pitch by pitch. Or the three of us, myself and two others, who managed to go four years without missing a non-Christmas-break game in Cameron, despite illness, work and even surgery.
This column is for my friends from home, who gave me those questioning looks when I told them that after Christmas break, I'd be spending most of my time in a tent. It's for Jeremy Schaap, whose condescending pieces on the Cameron Crazies for ESPN could never capture the magic that exists in Cameron's hallowed halls. It's for the hierarchy at The Chronicle, who never seemed to understand that readers may be more interested in a Duke basketball story than about the impending privatization of the bookstore. It's for Jessica K., who might now realize why the conflicts between sorority semi-formals and Duke basketball games were so hard to resolve. Mostly, though, it's for my closest friends, you know who you are, whose 3 a.m. conversations always start out on a serious topic but invariably end with the question, "If you had a baseball team made up of the eight greatest players in the country, and me in right field, could we win the title?"
I'm a senior, and this is my senior column, so I guess I'm supposed to offer advice. For me, the choices I made at Duke led to one simple conclusion: find your passion, and pursue it. My sportsaholism led to three years at The Chronicle, a year as the Blue Devil (explaining the title of this column, for those who care), hours of camping, a lifetime of devotion. My blood will bleed Duke Blue until I die. But if sports isn't your thing, find out what is-this University surely offers avenues to explore your passions. For me, The Chronicle provided a natural extension of my interests, and, much as I hate to admit it, I will always be grateful to the organization for furthering and embellishing my interest in sports.
Four years ago, I thought I was as addicted to sports as I could possibly be. Now I can look back and realize that I wasn't even close. Years from now, when I look back at Duke, there is no doubt which images and memories will stand out strongest in my mind. And watch out for the team of Clemens, Piazza, McGwire, Biggio, ARod, Chipper, Belle, Griffey and Davis. We'd surely win it all.
Zachary Davis is a Trinity senior and associate sports editor of The Chronicle.
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