Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It has been one week since my last confession.
Friday night, I went to Chapel Hill, ascended the upper deck of a Dean Dome filled with 20,000 frenzied fans and took part in the annual season kickoff party known as Late Night with Roy.
And Friday night, for two hours, I sat in a sea of baby blue, struggling to fight the ugliest of feelings.
For two hours, I wished I were a Tar Heel.
Before you stop reading, let me assure you, I am proud to be a Dukie. But I firmly believe we don't have to be so blinded by our deep hatred that we can't see something good when it's right in front of our faces (or on YouTube, for that matter... do a quick search and you'll see what I mean).
And Late Night with Roy is good. Really good.
It's the one night a year when the Dean Dome's doors are flung wide-open and the poor, tired, huddled masses of Chapel Hillians yearning to breathe in basketball after a long offseason can come together to celebrate their team. It's the biggest bash of the year, and everyone's invited.
There's dancing, singing, scrimmaging, laughing (at Duke's expense), reminiscing (also at Duke's expense) and, of course, emcee and punster extraordinaire Stuart Scott.
For the record, the Baron of Booyah's jokes about Dukies were so unfunny that even the most spirited of Tar Heels couldn't muster up a cheer. Then again, maybe they were saving their voices for one of 15 times the clip of Danny Green posterizing Greg Paulus in Cameron played on the jumbo screens.
But Scott's routine is child's play compared to the real show.
The lights in the arena are killed, leaving only the glow of the stadium's giant screens, the fans' light-up necklaces and a spotlight pointed at the mouth of the UNC tunnel. One by one, each player is announced in class order.
You can just feel the energy building, knowing who will be last.
Tyler Hansbrough walks onto the floor, his arms pointed in a V toward the sky, and the stadium erupts so loudly you would have sworn Oprah had just surprised the audience with 20,000 new cars.
Even my disdain for Psycho T couldn't keep me from being taken by the energy of the stadium, the crowd's ability to show its love for the All-American and the All-American's ability to relish in it and return the appreciation.
After the whole team came out dressed in Carolina blue formalwear and did a number to Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Hello Detroit" (the home of this year's Final Four), after watching senior guard Bobby Frasor star in six filmed sketches lampooning his Hall of Fame coach, after seeing the custom T-shirts with Roy's face blown up huge and donning sunglasses that said "Soulja Roy," I felt this gnawing, longing feeling.
I wanted to be able to celebrate Duke basketball like this. Why should Tar Heel fans have all the fun?
I'm not saying Duke should rip off Late Night-we couldn't even if we tried. But I am saying the Blue-White game is horribly out of date, unexciting and does not do justice to either the team or its fans. I was there this year, and the upper bowl was half empty. Maybe it's time to consider a change-because if Late Night with Roy made me feel as if I wanted to be a Tar Heel, I can't even imagine what recruits must have thought.
At one point, the UNC senior class, clad in caps and gowns, sat in chairs at center court and told "Remember when?" stories as video highlights played of the events they discussed. Basically, it was Carolina's sales pitch to recruits: "Look how awesome we are, how much fun we've had, how we're going to win a national title and stay four years doing it!"
It was also a time for players to interact with the fans who give up time, money and even their hearts to support the team. And perhaps most importantly, it was a time to show that one of the most powerful programs in the country can have fun-.
Duke can do this, too. And its players don't even have to hula dance in coconut bras and grass skirts.
Blue-White should be moved to the first Friday night of the season in line with Midnight Madness celebrations at top programs across the country. Coach K should address the fans in a truncated version of his talk before the UNC game. Each player should be announced individually to the crowd, giving seniors a chance to begin absorbing their final year in one of the nation's most storied programs. And before the scrimmage starts, there should be a montage of highlights on those spiffy new video screens we have in Cameron.
We're Duke. We've got a lot of highlights to choose from. We also have a lot of fantastic former players who already reconvene in Durham annually for K Academy. Why can't some of them return on a Friday night in October to generate excitement for the team and give back to Duke's highly-touted "sixth man?"
If the people around the Blue Devil program don't think change is necessary, I urge them to send someone to Late Night next year. I'd bet my Duke tuition they wouldn't leave Chapel Hill feeling the same way.
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