Reflections on a Duke Basketball Game

Since Abby's recovery is going so well (she slept all night without needing pain medication, woke up without a sore throat or ears, and is eating like a horse), we decided to take up a friend on her offer to stay with the girls so we could see a Duke game tonight. It was so fun! We were supposed to go to another one together a couple of weeks ago, but Iris was screaming (I know, big shock there), uncontrollably and I just couldn't take her to someone's house in that condition. So Nate took a friend to the game, Abby went to a friend's house, and Iris and I hung out. So tonight's game would be our last chance to go together for this season. I'm glad we got to go. Here are some of my reflections on tonight's game:

Either the Duke basketball team is awesome, or we just see games in which their opponents suck. Either way, it is fun to see Duke pummel the competition, especially with a crowd of Duke fans doing their traditional oooooooohs and hopping up and down the whole time. Nate and I watched the game from the opposite side of the stadium as last time and I got to see a whole new side to Duke basketball.

The coach is extremely entertaining. Boy can that man's face turn red. And he can shout! I couldn't actually hear what he was shouting, because everyone around me was cheering, or booing, or ooooooohing, but I could tell he was shouting because his face got all red and his mouth opened really wide and he gestured here and there to the players. So, anyway, at the other game we went to, his back was to us, so I didn't get to watch the emotional side of Duke basketball, and it was good. I told Nate that I almost liked watching the coach get all fired up more than the basketball game... almost.

Another reflection revolves around an indecent subject. Those with sensitive eyes, please avert them. I'm going to talk about... cheerleaders. The Duke cheerleaders are cute girls. They look like they practice some, they smile a lot, they are probably happy in their lives. But looking at them I just kept thinking, "One of these days they will have children and their little, perfect waists won't look like that. Their hair won't be so long and bouncy, and they won't be able to kick that high or stand that way anymore. Maybe someone should tell them." Then as I observe them more, I notice that a couple of them were actually, um, well how do I put this, falling OUT of their uniform tops. Their tops are tiny and those girls, just didn't have enough holding them in. They didn't fall completely out, but enough to make me go right over there and tell them to put something on over them or at least wear some support for crying out loud. There are children and husbands in that stadium. I actually didn't go up to them, but I really wanted to. Instead I just imagined that the embarrassment when they are mothers of knowing they nearly flashed hundreds of people will be enough punishment for being so cute and skinny and falling out. (Deep breaths, deep breaths)

So picture this, there are 11 minutes left in the game. Duke is up 30 points. The teams start taking time outs (I really hate this part of sports. But in basketball, the clock stopping is really annoying cause they do it ALL THE TIME). So they huddle together and the cheerleaders are out there, cheering. And I'm thinking to myself, what are they talking about. So I imagined a huddle chat for each team. And I'm now going to share them with you. Why? Because I like you.

St John's Huddle (Obviously the other team):

Player 1: OMG Coach, we're down 30 points. What are we going to do?
Coach: Look, son, we can still win this. 30 points in 11 minutes is doable. We can't give up.
Player2: I don't know coach, we'd have to score like 3 points a minute and not let them get any points.
Coach: Don't go doing math on me, now. There's no math in basketball. If you are so smart, why are you going here and not Duke? I didn't recruit you to sit here and challenge my motivational speeches with Math... oh nevermind. I'll put someone else in.
Player 3: I don't understand it man, we had them beat in the first 5 minutes, what happened?
Coach: They caught up, that's what happened. Now go out there and WIN! Don't let them get the ball. If they get the ball, they'll score. Just keep taking it away.
Player 4: Um...okay

Duke's Huddle
Player 1: Alright, we're 30 points ahead!
Coach: Now let's not get cocky... that's what cost us the 10 point spread the first five minutes. We stay focused and keep getting points.
Player 2: Okay, now what?
Coach: I don't know, what else can I tell you? Um... does anyone else have anything to say?
Player 3: I really like how the towel boys are wiping up the sweat off the floor. We should give them a raise.
Coach: A raise, huh? We'll just have to see about that.
Player 4: I think we should give the cheerleaders a raise. I don't know what it is tonight, but they sure have the crowd up and excited.
Player 5: Except for that short, blond woman over there who is giving them the evil eye. I wonder what her problem is. She's probably just jealous of cheerleaders or something.
Coach: Let's stay focused on the game. If you get the ball, you'll score, so get the ball. They'll never catch up to us, but we can make the spread even more.


So we stuck around another few "basketball minutes" (which means 20-30 with all the timeouts) until 4 minutes before the game was going to end. Then we decided it was time to go, since we didn't want to spend the next 30 minutes watching more timeouts.

Another Duke game attended, and some lessons learned along the way. By the way, Duke won. The final score was Duke 86 and St Johns 56.