For those of you who don’t go to Duke, you probably don’t exactly understand how the Crazies get tickets for the greatest game against the greatest rivals in sports. Well, we don’t. Cameron Indoor Stadium doesn’t actually have tickets for the students. The famous section 17 is crammed with dedicated fans who have been waiting outside through tornadoes, blizzards and below-freezing temperatures for a coveted spot in the front row. You’ve seen the face paint, the hexing and the obnoxiously loud chants; but now here’s an opportunity inside the experience. Here’s your opportunity to better understand why we sleep in tents for two months just to witness the best 40 minutes of our lives.
I’ve tented for three years and have loved my experience. Not only have I gotten amazing spots in Cameron, but I’ve also had the opportunity to bond with the people in my tent and create memories in Kville.
To simplify the tenting procedures, I will summarize what tenting consists of. There are three levels of tenting: black, blue and white. Black tenting lasts the longest while white tenting is the shortest time period. Of course there is walk-up line, where students are in pairs and wait outside for three days without a tent. Hearing all this, doesn’t tenting sound way more appealing? Every year the home game switches dates with UNC, and this year the game is March 5. That means that those in black tents have been sleeping outside since the second week in January. Black tenting requires two of the 12 members to be in the tent during the day and ten members at night. Blue tenting, which started this year on January 31, requires one member during the day and six at night. In order to get a spot in a white tent, you must compete in a scavenger hunt and begin sleeping in Kville on February 17 with one member present during the day and two at night.
As you can see, tenting is a very large time commitment—but let me tell you, the payoff is entirely worth it. This might help you better understand the process.
I could share my experiences as a tenter, but I thought it would be more interesting to hear what a number of students on campus have to say about tenting. I sent out a survey on the Facebook page for everything Duke basketball and was pleased to discover that 34 people had filled it out. That’s almost three tents worth of people!
There were nine questions ranging from “why are you tenting?” to favorite memories to number of checks missed. I found some very interesting results, such as only 34 percent of tenters would be willing to do walk-up line. Personally, I would never choose to do walk-up line because it is three days sleeping on the sidewalk without a tent in the rain and cold. I’d much rather sleep inside the warm tent with another body to keep me warm. Worse case scenario, however, if my tent were to be kicked out or if I didn’t have a tent, I obviously would do walk-up line.
Respondents were pretty evenly split between the three levels of tenting: black, blue and white, with the majority choosing to black tent followed by “dirty” blue tenting. If a tent is “dirty,” it simply means they started after the first day of that color’s tenting but before the first day of the next color. For example, since blue tenting started on January 31, and white tenting started on February 17—any tent that started between those dates is considered a “dirty” blue tent.
Half of the survey-takers had tented before. A number of people chose to tent because it was their senior year, and they thought they should experience tenting at least once during their Duke career. This is something I completely agree with.
What other school allows you to wait in line for months just to watch one basketball game? What school creates a small community outside the basketball stadium where players hand out protein bars, Coach K gives speeches and bonfires allow s’more making? A lot of people just liked the atmosphere of Kville. One answer that particularly stood out was
“Because DDMF. Serious answer: the Cameron Crazies are the epitome of what makes Duke great. Duke is great because we have an incredible group of smart, hardworking individuals who are so proud to have gone to this school. You don't get this sense of spirit or alumni loyalty anywhere in the Ivy League. The energy in that stadium makes me so proud to be a Blue Devil, no matter the score. Anyone who says Disney is the happiest place on earth has never been in Cameron when we beat UNC or win a national championship.”
Tenting is a great way to meet new people and create Duke memories that will last a lifetime. Cameron is my absolute favorite place on campus; Krzyzewskiville is definitely a close second. Win or lose, I’d tent a thousand times over again. I can’t believe I only have one more season, but I sure as hell am going to make it count.
Go to Hell, Carolina. Go to Hell!
