AJC > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 15 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSympathy for the Devils
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here it is mid-November, and Enemy Watch is assigned to write about everyone’s favorite subject this time of year:
Duke. Football.
Two words that seemingly don’t belong together on any date on the Julian calendar (Gregorian, too), much less the start of hoops season.
But this was when the ACC scheduling gods fated the Dookie helmetballers to meet up with Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are saying all the right things, not talking about this matchup with the 0-10 Blue Devils as the glorified practice it ought to be before the UGA and ACC championship games.
As hard as it was to watch that eyesore of a game in Chapel Hill last week, this one might be even worse. Will the Jackets play down to the level of competition for a second week in a row?
Thankfully, Reggie Ball’s home finale at Bobby Dodd Stadium — probably Calvin Johnson’s too — will not be televised live.
Duke comes in with 18 consecutive losses, the last one a somewhat spirited effort against Boston College. Ex-Techster Ted Roof has a young, but injured team. There haven’t been the rumblings out of Durham to make a coaching change, as already has happened in Chapel Hill, and that may transpire in Raleigh as well.
How much of this can you realistically pin on a coach at a school that says it cares about football, but doesn’t come close to backing it up? It’s enough for more than one pundit to suggest that Duke should stop this charade. Wasn’t this what used to be said about Wake Forest?
Enemy Watch isn’t suggesting there’s much reason to keep hope alive within the bowels of Wallace Wade Stadium. But the least cynical among us, the student press, is trying to usher out the graduating gridders on a positive note. Here’s the annual Seniors shoot for one last football victory account.
Money quote:
“We love this sport,” free safety Chris Davis added. “You can’t wake up at six-thirty every morning and not love it.”
The only thing that wakes Enemy Watch at that hour, without risking mortal injury, is a sweet kitty baying for breakfast. Yet the young lad’s dedication is highly admirable.
There was some recent football joy in Durham over the weekend, however — a big win by hometown N.C. Central.
Even before that occurrence, The Bottom 10 still rated the Dookies on top. But not even they deserve to be introduced with “lyrics” from Kevin Federline, soon to be Britney Spears’ Fed-Ex.
Have some sympathy for these Devils, would ya?
Permalink | Comments (22) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech
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Comments
By Yeah_Boy
November 15, 2006 03:13 PM | Link to this
* No sympathy. Put JJ Reddick at QB and let Weeler knock his head off. *
* Havings said that, I would at anytime pull for Duke over any SEC meat-head program. I just wouldn’t bet money on it!!*
By Sarah
November 15, 2006 03:37 PM | Link to this
dook sucks. the end. why should i feel sorry for them?
By view from snellville
November 15, 2006 04:33 PM | Link to this
Was Duke’s last ACC win against Tech and Tech needed it for a bowl game?
Maybe the Coach will get the guys wanting to play and to show something. Despite probably the best thing to do is to rest key players we willneed to have a 50 point margin before we consider doing so.
By Watcher
November 15, 2006 05:43 PM | Link to this
it would be awesome if Duke could get off the mat and beat the hell outta tech
By Watcher
November 15, 2006 05:44 PM | Link to this
it would be awesome if Duke could get off the mat and beat the hell outta tech
By Jake
November 15, 2006 06:04 PM | Link to this
The game is going to be wrapped up as soon as the Jackets walk on to the field. What hurts is that those of us without tickets won’t be able to see Calvin’s last home game at Tech. That is a crying shame. How come the Miami-Duke game was televised when Miami was putting out it’s B-team and a ranked Tech team in their last game at home can’t get some love?
By Green Jacket
November 15, 2006 06:36 PM | Link to this
Any Tech fan should go to this game to see Calvin (probably), Ball, K. Scott,Anoai, and Hall in their last at Bobby Dodd. Plenty of tickets will be floating around before the game as Duke will not bring many fans with them.
By BuzzFactor
November 15, 2006 07:39 PM | Link to this
I would love to see the final home game for Reggie and Calvin, plus a few other noteworthy guys. But I spent my money on tickets to JAX!!! Everything I could afford at the present time to take my 7 yr old to his first GT game.
By Wes
November 15, 2006 09:22 PM | Link to this
Beat the crap out of them and run up the score. Remember the sign from years ago at Duke: “WELCOME TO THE BASEMENT OF THE ACC GA TECH” See Reggie in Jax, not in Atlanta on Saturday. If our backups can’t play well enough to compete, why are they on the team?? Reggie will not be back next year, and no one else has had any snaps this year.
By James
November 15, 2006 09:24 PM | Link to this
Don’t jump to conclusions and simply think that Calvin’s going to leave just yet. I remember reading an article on a few weeks ago about Calvin’s pro decisions. He was asked if he was going to join the pro draft and didn’t give a clear answer. But what he said was that he “came to get a degree from Georgia Tech. And that’s what I’m going to do”.
So keep your heads up, fellow Tech fans. Don’t be suprised if we wait a whole nother year before Calvin is (prays to God) catching from Michael Vick. Of course, I’ll always be a Calvin Johnson fan and a Ga Tech fan, so I’ll support him no matter what he does. But I just won’t be suprised if he’s still in college when I get there next year.
And BuzzFactor, I hope your kid has just as much fun at his first Tech game as I did.
By jabba17
November 15, 2006 10:23 PM | Link to this
Y’all—quityerbichin’ about not having tix for this weekend. The game is not sold out and I can garontee you can get tix 15 mins before kickoff for $5.
Puke could be a contender if they wanted to. They split for the ACC title in what, 1989 when the Ol’ Ball Coach was there.
That’s where the “welcome to the basement” comment came from, when mouthy Spurrier was at Duke in 1987 and 1988 and we had an ACC losing streak that spanned four seasons, from Wake in 1986 to UVA in 1989. I guess he was still a little sore about being 86’d by Curry and Rice.
Start all the seniors, and put the game away early so we can put in the second string.
Hey Ted—You may be a Tech alum, but you’re Duke’s coach. Sucks to be you. GO JACKETS!
By UGASUX
November 15, 2006 11:00 PM | Link to this
Watcher has no balls
By Alabama Jack
November 16, 2006 03:52 AM | Link to this
This one is for Coach K. Call it payback.
By john
November 16, 2006 05:52 AM | Link to this
Why should anyone feel sorry for dook football?? Especially when Coach Kidkloirrerski tried so hard to block ACC expansion? He almost single-handedly derailed the deal because he was so worried about his precious basketball empire.
I remember when expansion finally took place over his objections, that several of us went to the Miami, VT, and BC board and implored them to not let up on dook when they take the field. Thank God they did!
Dook needs to wake up to reality that they have ZERO support for football and the best thing they can do is leave the ACC and join the Big East.
By Buzzmeister
November 16, 2006 08:05 AM | Link to this
Don’t write Calvin off yet, he could come back next year and finish the drill in terms of graduating. I suspect he is the sort of player that places just as much emphasis on academics as he does football.
See you Saturday.
By JustMe
November 16, 2006 08:13 AM | Link to this
Don’t feel “sorry” for Duke football. Use the game as a tune up or scrimage for the next game!
By Dumac
November 16, 2006 08:22 AM | Link to this
Duke had a chance to beat Wake Forest and Miami on the last play of each game, but it didn’t break their way. They’re a much better team than their record indicates, so let’s not overlook them.
By Bill
November 16, 2006 08:30 AM | Link to this
I watched the Jackets sweep the woeful Duke baseball team last spring. I’ve never seen a more dis-spirited bunch. Even a own team home run couldn’t get them out of the dugout! GT, CWS bound, comes out of the dugout for every homer. Why does any college athlete go there for any sport other than basketball?
By bh
November 16, 2006 10:12 AM | Link to this
Not bad if you combine their winning percentages of basketball and football.
By coach
November 16, 2006 12:47 PM | Link to this
Duke is very capable of winning the game against Georgia Tech.
By Christopher
November 16, 2006 02:46 PM | Link to this
Bill — you asked: Why does any college athlete go there for any sport other than basketball?
Consider this: Since 1998, Duke has won 41 ACC Championships — second only to North Carolina’s 43. Georgia Tech has picked up a mere 14 conference titles during that stretch.
And please remember that Duke has led the conference in number of ACC Academic Honor Roll selections in each of the past 17 years.
By UGA34
November 18, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this
Tech Football Sucks!!! Tech’s football program will always be last to the Mighty Bulldogs.