jhofficial
08-22-2007, 09:14 PM
By H. Williams Kellenberger
Rocky Mount Telegram
Friday, August 17, 2007
DURHAM — Every year, a new freshman class enters Duke University. It is diverse, bright and cultured.
And for 20 – one for each consecutive loss – of them, their entrance into these hallowed halls represents the beginning of one of the greater bargains of all time.
For four years of Ivy League-caliber education, you agree to be humiliated 12 Saturday afternoons a season.
The other 40 are yours to do what you please. You could troll Franklin Street in Chapel Hill or watch basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and his team win a conference game.
And what if we told you nobody would be at Wallace Wade Stadium to watch you lose? There's not a television audience, either. Your classmates traditionally tailgate in the morning, then head back to the dorms to watch a real football game.
Heck, feel free to tell them you beat Harvard in double overtime. It'll make them feel better about that Crimson rejection letter.
At Duke, you'll get an education. In fact, only Miami (yes, Miami) had more Academic All-ACC selections in 2006.
Your first semester in Durham, you'll take a course in philosophy. It'll teach you that in the game of life, there must a winner and loser.
This was a difficult concept for some.
Jomar Wright, admittedly, did not know very much about losing.
It was four years ago that the Duke wide receiver was a high school senior – at Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes.
Wright finished his high school career with a second straight state championship. He set a state record with 103 receptions and 20 touchdowns.
None of which had prepared him to win four games in his first three seasons.
"It makes losing harder, coming from a winning program," Wright said. "After high school, I moved on. This is a new challenge. ... Now I am trying to build (a winning tradition) here."
Oh, Jomar.
Your coach, Ted Roof, is a kind man. He would make a great uncle, no doubt the one who would twirl babies over his head and then pull them down and grip them in those linebacker-size arms of his.
He's also an optimistic man.
Earlier this season, he called a summit of former Duke football players. He told many of them the Blue Devils would be bowl eligible in 2008.
Sure, some asked why it would take more than a year to build a new bowling alley on campus. But Roof insisted he meant Duke football would spend Christmas break in scenic Boise, Idaho or Charlotte.
"There's some things I firmly believe in and know we are going to do," Roof said.
While your fellow college football-playing buddies worry about BCS rankings and being the big men on campus, hardly anyone will recognize you.
Duke football. You, too, could play a major role in consecutive loss No. 44.
H. Williams Kellenberger can be reached at 407-9950 or hwkellenberger@coxnc.com
Rocky Mount Telegram
Friday, August 17, 2007
DURHAM — Every year, a new freshman class enters Duke University. It is diverse, bright and cultured.
And for 20 – one for each consecutive loss – of them, their entrance into these hallowed halls represents the beginning of one of the greater bargains of all time.
For four years of Ivy League-caliber education, you agree to be humiliated 12 Saturday afternoons a season.
The other 40 are yours to do what you please. You could troll Franklin Street in Chapel Hill or watch basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and his team win a conference game.
And what if we told you nobody would be at Wallace Wade Stadium to watch you lose? There's not a television audience, either. Your classmates traditionally tailgate in the morning, then head back to the dorms to watch a real football game.
Heck, feel free to tell them you beat Harvard in double overtime. It'll make them feel better about that Crimson rejection letter.
At Duke, you'll get an education. In fact, only Miami (yes, Miami) had more Academic All-ACC selections in 2006.
Your first semester in Durham, you'll take a course in philosophy. It'll teach you that in the game of life, there must a winner and loser.
This was a difficult concept for some.
Jomar Wright, admittedly, did not know very much about losing.
It was four years ago that the Duke wide receiver was a high school senior – at Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes.
Wright finished his high school career with a second straight state championship. He set a state record with 103 receptions and 20 touchdowns.
None of which had prepared him to win four games in his first three seasons.
"It makes losing harder, coming from a winning program," Wright said. "After high school, I moved on. This is a new challenge. ... Now I am trying to build (a winning tradition) here."
Oh, Jomar.
Your coach, Ted Roof, is a kind man. He would make a great uncle, no doubt the one who would twirl babies over his head and then pull them down and grip them in those linebacker-size arms of his.
He's also an optimistic man.
Earlier this season, he called a summit of former Duke football players. He told many of them the Blue Devils would be bowl eligible in 2008.
Sure, some asked why it would take more than a year to build a new bowling alley on campus. But Roof insisted he meant Duke football would spend Christmas break in scenic Boise, Idaho or Charlotte.
"There's some things I firmly believe in and know we are going to do," Roof said.
While your fellow college football-playing buddies worry about BCS rankings and being the big men on campus, hardly anyone will recognize you.
Duke football. You, too, could play a major role in consecutive loss No. 44.
H. Williams Kellenberger can be reached at 407-9950 or hwkellenberger@coxnc.com