Cameron Crazies move closer to sanity

It's January, it's cold, it's rainy and sorority rush is in full swing. But there's something missing from the Gothic Winterland... Krzyzewskiville. For the last two years, diehard fans have set up camp in late December or early January to be assured of the best seats in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the two or three big home games of the semester. This year, however, Krzyzewskiville is the same pristine sod garden that existed in November instead of the muddy, alcohol- and urine-soaked shanty town we know and love.

Where are all the self-proclaimed "hardcore" fans that are willing to endure harsh weather or severe illness just to sit near the center of the court? Actually, they are still up there in the front row of every game. They are still as loud and as creative as ever-gotta love the "our house" chant. They still taunt opposing players (I loved when a few likened Quentin Richardson's stretching elastic band to a prophylactic) and come close to drawing technical fouls on almost every possession. The difference between this year and last is that these crazies have made a decision, for both themselves and for all of us, to value a normal life over an irrational desire to sleep in a tent for several weeks.

I say the decision was made for all of us because tenting is similar to the Prisoner's Dilemma. In the Prisoner's Dilemma, two suspects are placed in separate jail cells. They are told that if they tattle on their partner, they will receive a one-year jail sentence and he will receive 10 years in the slammer. If both squeal, they each get eight years in jail. If both do not squeal, they will be convicted of a lesser charge and get off with four years each. The incentive is for each player to squeal, leading to eight-year sentences for both. However, through collusion, they could both agree to cooperate and thus receive only four years each.

In years past, tenters have chosen to squeal, or defect, from their fellow fans. By coming back early from their winter vacations, they made others fear that they would be denied admission to the home game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Therefore, everyone is forced to tent. This leads to a massive rush to set up tents, and within days K-ville is usually filled to the brim-the flu virus and Wal-Mart rejoice.

This year, thankfully, our "diehard" fans have realized that there is no need to tent for nine weeks to see our boys embarrass a second-tier team led by a place-holder coach and a fight-prone point guard.

There is no need to disrupt normal life for such an extended period of time for any basketball team, no matter if it were this year's team, last year's team or Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. It's just basketball. Granted, Duke Student Government has put up more barriers to tenting than in the past, but hardcore tenters have always adapted. As supposedly the best fans in all of basketball, our team spirit is shown by what we do in the gym, not outside of it. Sure, that one hyper no-talent-coach-turned-ESPN- announcer loves to talk about his "Cameron Crazies," the "kids with 1,400 on their SAT's who campout for weeks to see the Tobacco Road Rivalry," but who cares what a guy who reads off a TelePrompTer thinks about us. We know we are the best hecklers in the business; we don't have to sacrifice our lifestyles for it.

This tenting dilemma stems from a communication problem. This blissful K-ville-free January is thanks only to the surprisingly rationality of a small number of people. There should be some way in which fans can communicate more clearly in order to put the tenting decision into as many hands as possible.

More DSG regulation is not the solution. DSG was never, is never and will never be the solution to any problem of any kind, anywhere. The only way to formulate a rational tenting scheme is through cooperation of the fans; all of the fans, not just the ones who sleep on the sidewalk for Davidson. The fans should agree to delay tenting until a certain reasonable time period, say one or two weeks before the game. They should also agree on the ground rules: Grace periods for away games, bathroom and meal breaks and ice/snow breaks. Only by coming together to cooperate can the campus be spared a campout that becomes a war of attrition.