Letter: Tenting trivia test is ridiculous

As a four-time alumnus of blue tenting (in the early days of black tenting where such an endeavor involved weeks in K-Ville with no tent), I was more than a bit miffed to see the content of the trivia test given to would-be residents of K-Ville. If there is more interest in tenting than there are available tents, every effort should be made to ensure those who receive the first shot at those spots are the most dedicated fans. But by focusing more on the minutia of the team’s statistics rather than general knowledge that Duke basketball fans should have, all the test in its current form measures is which tents are the best at memorizing numbers. The most dedicated Duke fans likely know the years and locations of all our National Championship victories, the names and numbers of all the retired jerseys, and probably some interesting trivia about the players… but they may not remember the exact number of blocks Marques Bolden had against Auburn or the team’s number of dunks per game! 
All of these complaints could and should be easily addressed, though. If the goal is to reward the most dedicated fans with front-of-the-line status, there’s a straightforward solution: base tenting position off of attendance (and, if necessary, time spent in line) for the early season games that have historically had less than full-throated student sections. The students who have been front-and-center in Section 17 for blowouts over the likes of Stetson are the ones who not only most deserve to be there again against UNC, but are the ones the program should want to be in that position. This seems like an easy, straightforward solution to the problem, and it flummoxes me why the Line Monitors are still relying on what almost amounts to chance in the form of this ridiculous trivia test to remedy this. Disenchantment with the Line Monitors and tenting will only grow if this continues.

Scott Rich is a Duke alum, Trinity '12, and was the former sports online editor for The Chronicle.