Friday’s into Duke UNC Saturday

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s very easy to not work from home. I even heard a younger gentleman in the gym this past week exclaiming on the phone – “When I’m in the office, I want to do work, but at home, I’ll kinda just make my way to the couch, and be lazy…”. Today, I had a great lazy day from home.

It was filled with a lot of Duke UNC reading and watching. And the build up is meeting the ticket prices. It’s incredible. All the stories, all the imagery. I definitely didn’t appreciate the historics of Duke when I went to basketball camp there as a youngster, and even when I went to school there. Tenting was special. In that it was especially difficult in the cold weather, filled with beer and mary jane, coupled with pledging, and coupled with nonstop sickness. But the body paint we put on during a freezing March day (believe it is in the 70s tomorrow) made it all worth it. Winning the championship that year didn’t hurt either.

So many things hit the heart and soul today. Jay Williams’ interview with Mike Greenberg was the tear-jerkiest, partially because I read his book and knew of his battles, but he was so sincere in talking about how important K was in his life. Some of the in-practice words of wisdom they flashed from Coach K included legendary lines, and as a player (former player?), I would definitely appreciate that coming from your coach.

The energy in Durham tomorrow, and more specifically in K-Ville and in Cameron is going to be electric. Electrocuting. And it deserves to be so. The dramatization of everything in this post-pandemic / endemic world has unfortunately dramatized everything, and it has led to some overdone shit. But this game deserves all the love and attention. And it comes at a good time on American soil at least – as the weather is getting better and people’s faces are becoming more prevalent.

There were sentimental moments today, but the most authentic one came in the form of a picture. And I’m going to be honest, in today’s environment, I was truly shocked they had this picture in the main ESPN article (which was a great read). It reminded me of the smart, funny, weird Duke students that patrol K-Ville. And it embodied the authenticity of it.

A nice part about writing this post is I can just feel all of you being out and about, mentally or physically, planning your weekend, some of it revolving around Duke UNC in some cases, some of it around important dinners, shows, and the works. All the stuff is coming back, and that makes everything else better, including the comfort level of all 10,000 people in the gym tomorrow. They will be focusing on K and Duke UNC. And that’s what we want.

I’m a basketball fan first and foremost. UCLA runs through me because of my Dad. My Duke basketball love sits below my love for Duke as a place. Which again is what I think makes this game tomorrow so special for the alumni and the fans. It’s about the place and the people, not just about basketball.

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A GREAT picture and good 'in the weeds' of K-Ville read.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/33412022/32-days-krzyzewskiville-camping-crazies-ahead-coach-k-home-finale