Four benches, one wheelchair ramp and a stack of Chronicles does not a bonfire make.
In the most subdued postgame festivities in recent memory, fans celebrated the men's basketball team's win over the University of Maryland Wednesday night with a little beer, a little mud and not much else.
Alpha Epsilon Pi's bench - previously chained to its section until some enterprising Sigma Chi brothers channeled Norm Abram and sawed through the wood - was the first to find its way to the center of Main West Quadrangle. House P's "Paradise" bench joined it soon after, and its fiery sunset slowly came alive in flames.
Mirecourt's bench then traveled the length of the quad, and upon reaching its final destination almost skidded off the two other benches and landed on three bench-tossers, before being uprighted just in time.
"They tried to put it on, but it slipped and almost killed some people," said sophomore Andy Kay. "It was awesome."
But other than a few crates, a stuffed terrapin, a Beirut table, a handicap ramp, newspapers, a computer printer and a late-night offering of the Cleland bench, nothing else happened.
"This is pretty lame actually," said Dean of Judicial Affairs Kacie Wallace, an A-Team member. "It seems like they feel a little obligated rather than enthused to do this."
Students, some of whom had just completed as many as eight weeks of tenting in Krzyzewskiville for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Maryland games, agreed.
"The game was such an awesome game. I feel like they deserve a much better bonfire," said senior Lucia Stoisor. "And everyone is just settled in to the victory, and isn't celebrating. This certainly does not remind me of a Maryland victory."
Most of those gathered on the quad discussed the Blue Devils' close win over the Terrapins, some recalling Maryland head coach Gary Williams allegedly cursing and flipping off the Cameron Crazies during a second-half timeout. Only one chant of "D-U-K-E, who the..." broke through, and it did not last long.
"This year everyone was just sort of milling around, and going through the motions," said sophomore Kunal Shah.
By midnight, some fans found excitement by playing in the mud, with a lengthy wrestling match between two female students drawing a large crowd before campus police broke it up.
The arrival of the Cleland bench offered an attempt at a late-night rally, but like Maryland, the desperation-induced spurt came up short.
"Most of the people guarded their benches. We had to resort to Edens," said sophomore Nikolai Gasiorowski, who helped carry up Cleland's bench after midnight.
"It doesn't matter that there is no one here. The pride can't be extinguished, ever."
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