Carl Franks has made a simple but logical adjustment to the practice
schedule, changing
Duke's off day from Monday to Sunday. Mondays, the players say, has been a
brutally long day, and it's an exhausting way to start the week. Franks
says there's no point in doing things just because they've always been done that
way, which is a good attitude for a Duke football coach to have.
A writer in the Chronicle has an article up which, while funny in spots, is
really unfortunate. He does say that the guys on the football team are decent
and Carl Franks is a good man and that they might turn the corner, but then goes
on to essentially say, why
bother? He also rips the notion of Duke Football tradition, but shows his
youth when he does so. At one point Duke was every bit the equal of Notre
Dame, Alabama, USC, and anyone else you can think of. Wallace Wade was
more than just the name of the stadium. He's right, it was a long time ago, but it was still magnificent. We're not suggesting the writer be saccharine and bland - he has a funny biting style - but he's insulting people
who live down the hall from him and who sit next to him in class. Very large,
strong people. Not a wise move necessarily.
Anyway, as we keep saying, no one wants Duke football to continue the more
recent tradition of being bad. But in order for them to advance, they need
support. Duke fans have shown they are capable of incredible
support. Ray's a funny guy and we look forward to reading his future
columns, but this one whiffed, by and large.