Amid snow piles, inhabitants of Krzyzewskiville cozy up in sleeping bags in shelters varying from tents to tarps held up by sticks. Tenting for seats in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the rivalry game against North Carolina began Jan. 3, and although the Spring semester started off with temperatures below freezing, Dukies remain adamant that tenting really is worth braving the cold.
“Of course it’s worth it. I have been watching the Duke basketball games every year with my mom, so why would I ever pass up the chance to see one in person for free? Why wouldn’t you? Yeah, it’s cold, but there’s a great feeling of camaraderie in K-ville.”
—freshman Cecile Diaz
“It’s weird to say the least. Last year I remember waiting on line and, yeah, it was cold and you had to wait for hours, but at least you knew what you were waiting for. When you’re tenting four weeks in advance, it’s easy to forget why you’re out in the cold at night. But I know in the end, it’ll be worth it.”
—sophomore Andrew Norwood
“It’s a week of hanging out with close friends. I thought it would be so much worse, but it’s actually a lot of fun. I’m from New England, so this snow is a joke, but I’m sure if you ask the people in my tent from Los Angeles you’d get a very different opinion. They’ve all had to go out to buy new clothes for the cold.”
—freshman Brittany Zulkiewicz
“I think tenting is a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I guess because of the stuff we go through it’s a bonding experience for everyone involved. Everyone in our tent is rushing, so it’s an insane task to balance out everyone’s schedule. We leave that to one girl, who spends hours on it. We call her Coach Sam.”
—freshman Colleen Mulligan
“I’m from Buffalo, N.Y. so we get three feet of snow there all winter, which is pretty much six months of the year, so I was like, ‘I’m in North Carolina—this won’t be an issue.’ But I definitely underestimated the power of nature.”
—freshman Olivia Wasteneys
“This is my third year tenting but the first time I am doing black tenting. I grew up in Raleigh so I always felt the Carolina-Duke rivalry, and it’s the hardest ticket to get, so that’s why we’re all out here I guess.”
—junior Tony Phipps
“There aren’t any fights in our tent. We’re all in the same dorm, so it’s like a Randolph tent. We just rag on each other and talk junk— nothing serious.”
—freshman Sam Keenan
“I live in Chapel Hill, so I know the UNC [ticket] system and ours is a lot better in comparison. There, you apply for a lottery, and they award the tickets randomly. For us, it’s a merit-based system, so the people who earn it and are willing to work hard get it and that leaves you with the better die-hard fans up front and center.”
—senior Chris Venters
“It’s cold. What do we do? Snuggle.”
—freshman Victoria Li
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