The Cameron Crazies have taken a lot of crap in recent years. To be honest, they deserve it.
I am not an expert on the history of the Cameron Crazies. Despite what every single Duke graduate I have ever spoken with about the subject has told me, I can’t tell you that the Crazies of the past were so much better than they are now, because I wasn’t there.
What I can tell you is this—the Cameron Crazies of the last three seasons have been totally lame. Lamer than that kid who shows off his knowledge in huge lectures, and even lamer than 98 Degrees.
I went to almost every game freshman year, but since then my Cameron attendance has been rare to quite rare. The cheers were downright unoriginal, and I simply felt like I was losing I.Q. points by the minute.
Every Cameron diehard will tell you that he doesn’t care about originality, that winning is all that matters. If that is so, then why do we have these cheer sheets giving us good fodder for innovative chants? And why do the Crazies spend the entire game trying to come up with funny cheers if winning is all that matters?
Beyond being unoriginal, I heard a fan yell something so moronic at the Michigan State game that for a second I thought a Carolina student had trespassed into our student section. The fan yelled at a referee, “You work at home depot!” I don’t mean to pick at an isolated example, but that was atrocious.
I believe the students lack ingenuity because tenting has largely become a freshman phenomenon. I am not trashing freshmen—we were all freshmen once—but us older folks are just a little more clever.
Tenters complain left and right about spending time in K-ville, but I have the perfect solution: while in your tent, put down the books for a little and brainstorm for some cool, ORIGINAL cheers.
I’ll be at the Wake game Sunday, so if you come back with a vengeance and make me eat my words, I’ll throw you some recognition.
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