Anytime I mention I attend Duke, the first question I typically receive has to do with basketball. I’m quite certain that this experience is common to pretty much every Duke student living in the United States.
We might have two Nobel Laureates, produce world-class research and are one of the leaders of American higher education, but the only things the general public tends to know are that Coach K is a god in the pantheon of college basketball greats, we have a pretty awesome basketball team and, because of this reality, we are one of the most hated teams in the nation.
However, for all the role that tenting in K-Ville, elation and disappointment from upsets and amazing comeback victories and that amazing national championship run have played in my experience at Duke, there might be one athletic endeavor that has superseded basketball’s role in my education in craziness.
Hell yeah, it's Duke football.
I doubt any student beyond the ones who play for the team highlight football as a reason to come to Duke. But Duke football is relevant, rising and on its way to being a fixture of the Duke student experience. As the program has matured from scratching for a bowl game when we first arrived on campus to a perennial powerhouse of the ACC Coastal Division and consistently ranked in the weekly AP Poll, so too have we as seniors, through growing pains, moments of pure joy and the marathon of an intense four-year education.
Way back in 2010, while many of us were in high school, the tradition of Tailgate came to an abrupt ending following the discovery of a sibling of a student passed out in a Porta Potty following the Tailgate. Suffice it to say that up until five years ago, football was only relevant for the party, costumes and revelry that occurred before the game in the Blue Zone.
Two years later, I and the rest of the senior class stepped onto campus knowing little to nothing about the auspicious history of Tailgate save the memories of some juniors and seniors who had witnessed it in person. All we grew to know was that, for the first time in a very long time, our football team was competitive and that a last second victory against UNC to close the season gave us our first bowl game birth since the 90s. For the first time at Duke, I remember feeling a part of a bigger community, the feeling that many cite as what makes being a Cameron Crazy such a unique experience. Football became a space where we could be proud of being a part of Duke and a place where success wasn’t guaranteed but rather something we could attain.
For the past three years, we’ve watched the team pull off astounding upsets and suffer crushing defeats (looking at you Texas A&M and Johnny Football). Unlike our illustrious basketball program, football still has something to prove, a chip on the team’s collective shoulder every year to surpass the expectations of the media, and every year we’ve been on campus, they have. In a lot of ways, that type of resilience is inspiring, and the aggression and passion of a team built on defense and special teams is something to admire.
The result of any given game is seldom certain and that makes being a fan so much more enjoyable in my opinion. It gives you a reason to follow the team and invest in the outcome. When a program is built on Coach David Cutcliffe, a set of values like excellence and discipline and continues to grow and improve each year, there’s not much more you can ask for.
There are lessons embedded in the rise of Duke football that make the success on the field even more valuable to the university. While I still cringe at the sound of the football school chants because of the negative connotations associated with top collegiate football programs, the excitement and spirit in supporting the team is a prime example.
Since Tailgate came to a close, the administration and student leaders have been attempting to restart a culture of little “t” tailgating prior to football games that complements rather than overlooks the contest on the field. It is fundamentally something we need on this campus. Football, just like basketball, has been the space for me the past four years where it doesn’t matter if you’re involved in a fraternity or sorority, whether you’re here on full scholarship or not or what social group you might ascribe to.
While there is certainly much to be desired in the language and attitudes of drunk students and their language usage, in the student section, all that matters is that you’re a part of the Duke community. There’s inherent value in that nuanced perception of inclusivity we should not take for granted because it is something we desperately need more of on this campus where inequality and exclusivity are rampant.
With all the ways that our campus is divided and segregated by structures and institutions, we need common social spaces where we can gather and be a part of a bigger Duke community. The effort to ignite Devilsgate perhaps can be a catalyst to build such a space, but it can only be that way when we refuse to only tailor social life to the elites of Duke and make it one where everyone is welcome and included.
As a senior with only two home games left in my Duke career, leaving behind a culture and a space where students can feel included and a part of the Duke community matters to me more than anything else. Let’s commit to building a space that adds value and vitality to the student experience and capitalizes on the excellence of a football program that, like many of us about to graduate, is on the rise.
I’ll be at Wallace Wade on Halloween for the game against Miami to do just that. You can find me jumping around like a fool, yelling some less than savory things and loving every minute of it. I hope you’ll join me.
Jay Sullivan is a Trinity senior. His column runs on alternate Mondays.
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