Awash in a flurry of Busch Light debris, the post-Tailgate Blue Zone tends to look as if it has been hit by a hurricane, rain or shine. This Saturday, however, the description could be especially appropriate if Tropical Storm Hanna crashes the party.
T.S. Hanna is expected to make landfall near North Carolina's coast late Friday or early Saturday, just in time for the Blue Devils' matchup with Northwestern. Bracing the state for what is expected to escalate to a weak Category 1 hurricane, Gov. Mike Easley pronounced a state of emergency, ordered the National Guard and water rescue teams to prepare for the storm and implored residents to heed safety warnings.
WRAL predicts two to four inches of rainfall and wind gusts of up to 50 mph Friday and Saturday in the Triangle area. But senior Mike McGroddy insisted that he would not let severe weather conditions put a damper on his fun.
"This is one of my last Tailgates," he said. "It's going to take a lot more than a hurricane to keep me out of the Blue Zone."
Representatives from Duke, Northwestern and the Atlantic Coast Conference will hold a conference call this morning to determine the status of the Duke's 7 p.m. tilt with the Wildcats, Associate Director of Athletics Mitch Moser said. Moser noted that Wallace Wade Stadium's football field is crowned to direct most rainwater to the sidelines, a feature that optimizes playing conditions in the event of inclement weather.
Northwestern planned to arrive in North Carolina on a charter flight Friday afternoon, the school's Assistant Athletic Director for Media Services Mike Wolf wrote in an e-mail.
"GameDay" festivities on Main West Quadrangle remain tentatively scheduled, and the Blue Zone will be open for students who prefer to pregame the football game the old-fashioned way, said Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek. Students are urged to wear closed-toed shoes and refrain from throwing beer cans in the parking lot, but Wasiolek emphasized that the pre-kickoff revelry will not be at the forefront of administrators' minds this weekend.
"Tailgate is not the primary concern this weekend in light of the weather," she said. "I am most concerned about everyone's health and safety."
Junior Alyssa Dack predicted that students partaking in the activities in the Blue Zone would be smaller in number and quieter than usual-fraternity brothers might be unwilling to chance their speakers in the downpour. But sophomore Jack Fitzgibbons added that the Tailgate faithful would still be out in full force.
"I'm already used to being showered in beer," he noted. "So what's wrong with a little more water?"
Concerned about the arrival of an uninvited and potentially destructive guest, some students are debating whether to work ponchos and rubber rain boots into their costumes for this Saturday's Blue Zone brouhaha.
"I will have to adapt my Tailgate style-I might have to wear pants," McGroddy said. "But that's part of the fun of Tailgate. You can incorporate your costume to battle the elements."
Dack, who made an appearance in the Blue Zone as a lifeguard last Saturday, added that she, too, will have to take a rain check on the costume she had been planning.
"[White] T-shirts won't be a good idea for girls," she noted.
Ben Cohen contributed to this story.
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