Have the Crazies Lost Their Creativity?

FanHouse was on site for Duke-UNC. And we have Notes from Cameron Indoor.

Generally, Duke students are not just loud, they're also funny. It's what distinguishes them from everyone else in the country. And not funny in a crude N.C. State-Maryland kind of way, but in an intellectually superior, extremely clever kind of way. Not on Wednesday.

There were little-to-no player specific cheers and even some of the old standbys used by the Cameron Crazies were absent. Instead, we were treated to a whole heck of a lot of "Let's Go Duke," over and over again. After finding a "Cheer Sheet" -- the renowned slips of paper handed to students before games for synchronized harassment of opposing teams in Cameron after the game -- let's just say I was pretty disappointed.

Why? Because here's the Carolina player specific "playlist."

[Ed] Davis: Daddy's boy! or Roy's third choice
[Wayne] Ellington: Gerald's better!
[Danny] Green: You can't dance!
[Tyler] Hansbrough: You flop! You wine! You travel every time! or Tyler travels! Every time!
[Ty] Lawson: Ty fought the Law, and the Law won!
[Roy] Williams: Roy is diz-zy! Clap, Clap, Clap-Clap-Clap

I mean, no offense, but really? That's the best that a bunch of highly intelligent people could muster over the course of two weeks leading up to this game? Really?

(Aside/caveat: I've seen a substantial number of games at Cameron Indoor Stadium over the past 20-some years, and the students and fans during Wednesday's loss to North Carolina were as loud as I've heard them in a long time. But still, not so much on the creative side.)

Additionally, the Duke cheers for their own team were pretty "meh" -- they had nothing prepared for Greg Paulus and actually suggested the use of "Fee-Fi-Foe-Fum!" as a cheer for Brian Zoubek. The final straw might actually have been the students' decision to use "Bull-S***" as a chant when they disagreed with a call; while technically accurate, it's always more fascinating when they break out a well timed "We Beg to Dif-fer!" directed towards the referees.

Look, Duke fans aren't the reason the actual game itself happens, but they are a huge part of the atmosphere at Cameron Indoor Stadium. And frankly, I think we've all just come to expect a lot more out of them. It would be sad to think that they had lost their creativity.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-12-2009 @ 11:31AM

kantwistaye said...

Its a pretty well known fact that the Cameron Crazies aren't anything special anymore.

2-12-2009 @ 11:43AM

Matt Snyder said...

Ty fought the law and the law won?

I didn't know Chris Berman was a Duke student.

2-12-2009 @ 1:44PM

johnnybashford said...

Why are you bothering talking about them then? Have you ever been in Cameron?
And Will.... please stay focused on the fryer and try and not burn the chicken this time.

2-12-2009 @ 2:39PM

Um, dude, he was there last night with a press pass. Guess your fictional fryers had to do without.

2-12-2009 @ 2:48PM

I know Will was there, they brought in additional help to keep the floor mopped up due to the heat. He has many hidden talents.... please don't get me started with how good he is with a squeegee and a windshield!!!

2-12-2009 @ 7:05PM

capt2297 said...

Perhaps they've lost a step. I can remember when JR Reid from UNC came to play, the signs read J.R. can't read! Or when Maryland fans chanted at Duke fans NIT, meaning what they call the scrub tournament. I can recall Duke faithful chanting SAT, SAT. Classic stuff. You gotta love college athletics.

2-13-2009 @ 12:18AM

rob23776 said...

WB, get a life and get over yourself! Your 20 is chicken doo next to my 55. Guess you think "Hey, Dean, {and the rest of the UNC contingent} You suck!" is the epitome of pedantic cheering.

2-15-2009 @ 10:50AM

Shreyan said...

Did you guys not hear the "she said no" chant?
You conveniently forgot to write that one up...Ellington recently proposed to his girlfriend.

"She said no."

Go back to Ellington's first missed free throw and listen to what they're saying in the background.

2-15-2009 @ 12:16PM

morelights said...

I was there for this year's MD shellacking, and it was beyond fun... "more than double"... then, "more than triple".... and then pointing at the teams... inspiration... perspiration... poor Gary Williams went to the end of the bench, and found a lackey to bellyache and moan at, as if that would rectify the 20-63 deficit at the time... life is still good at Cameron, and the intimacy of the arena separates itself from the flattering copycat behavior of other fans across the country. Great home team fans have the Crazies to thank for making them rise to their level.

2-16-2009 @ 6:34PM

Morelights and Shreyan:

Thanks for your insight into Cameron and it's occupants. No where is there a better, louder, more quick-witted crowd at a somewhat intimate (if you call 9,000 bball nuts) arena.

Other teams have great fans, but their antics all originate from"Cameron Envy". Will doesn't get out much, with his 80 hrs a week at KFC, so he doesn't quite get it.

One day he may shock us all and say something nice about Duke. Good thing though that he doesn't have to apply for a literary license, huh?