Maybe it's because it was the first game of the year. Or perhaps it was because I was curious as to how much purple I would see in the stands of Wallace Wade Stadium. To be honest, I have no idea what possessed me to go stand with my friends in the rain Saturday evening to watch what was sure to be a one-sided thrashing of Duke by the East Carolina Pirates.
As we walked toward the stadium, we discussed how long we planned to stay. To be certain, if the Blue Devils were trailing by their usual 30 or 40 points by halftime, we were out of there. After all, there was college football to watch on T.V.
Ahh, T.V.
For the college football fans who populate East, West and Central campuses, it's been a salvation on fall Saturday afternoons for the past two years. Anyone who wanted to watch a competitive game had to do so on television, because it was a virtual certainty that one was not occurring on the field at Wally Wade. Even in the press boxes, journalists crowded around television sets--that is when they weren't attacking the free buffet--to watch a game going on hundreds of miles away. From dorm rooms to media rooms, the mentality was the same. Nobody cared who the teams were, but everyone wanted to watch a game where the winner wasn't decided before the post- meal cookies were long gone.
Saturday night, things were no different. I planned to see an ECU touchdown or six, shower, watch Notre Dame play Maryland and get ready for my fraternity's party. But that evening, the Blue Devils did something that they hadn't done for a really long time--they made the game interesting.
Duke's defense under new coordinator Ted Roof looked like, well, for the first time in years, a defense. They forced four turnovers and had a key sack to end the Pirates' final threat.
On the other side of the ball, Alex Wade had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, while Duke's tandem of quarterbacks didn't throw an interception the entire game. The Blue Devils raced out to a 20-0 lead to open the game, something that must have made fans arriving late double-check to make sure that "Sarcasm Day" wasn't one of Duke Athletics' new promotional ideas.
But sure enough, there the Blue Devils were, walking into the locker room at halftime with a 20-10 lead. And there my friends and I were, heading back to our rooms, but unlike past games, this time we were coming back.
While drying off during halftime, we spread word around the halls that not only was Duke not being destroyed, but the Blue Devils were actually up by 10. As the third quarter got underway, the student section had noticeably swelled. The rain fell harder, but no one seemed to mind. Chants of "goalposts" and "undefeated" began to arise.
There was an ECU fan shouting something at the students, but his thick Southern drawl coupled with a lack of sufficient teeth left his actual words a mystery. For once, Wallace Wade actually presented a real college football environment.
The end of the game is by now quite well-known. Students rushed the field, goalposts came down and the Blue Devils--the 1-0 Blue Devils--had finally shaken the monkey of a 23-game losing streak from their backs.
The events of Saturday evening were certainly unique. Duke students can't expect to rush the field again this season; they can't even be sure that the Blue Devils will win another game.
Duke's victory, however, did enact one major change. Whether the Blue Devils can keep up with Dave Ragone and company remains to be seen, but at least the student body can show up hoping for a competitive game, rather than simply searching for one on TV.
Evan Davis is a Trinity senior and senior associate sports editor. His column appears every Wednesday
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