Fan attendance shrinks in opener

Although the Blue Devils continue to emphasize the forward progress of their program, the fans Saturday did otherwise.

A mere 17,251 fans were in attendance at Wallace Wade Stadium to witness a 45-14 blowout against unranked UConn. The student section on the visiting sideline was relatively full, as were the stands behind Duke's bench, but the north end zone (the closed end of the stadium) was almost entirely empty. Furthermore, a large percentage of students left the stadium at halftime, even as Duke held a slim 14-11 lead. In 2004, when the Blue Devils traveled to Storrs, Conn. to play the Huskies, 40,000 spectators watched a 22-20 Connecticut win.

In comparison, last season's attendance numbers were better considering Duke's 0-7 home record in 2006. Surprisingly, last year's opener, a demoralizing 13-0 defeat at the hands of Division I-AA Richmond, drew over 10,000 more people than Saturday's game (27,546). For the next five home games (Virginia, Florida State, Miami, Vanderbilt, Navy), Wallace Wade averaged about 17,000 fans, close to the amount that turned up to see Saturday's matchup. The 2006 season finale, a 45-44 loss to rival North Carolina, was relatively well attended (24,478), especially considering the game was played while students were away for Thanksgiving.

The maximum capacity for Wallace Wade Stadium is 33,941.