There's no point in sugarcoating the struggles of Duke football in recent
years. It's been a dreadful stretch. So it's really satisfying to see that
the kids have
their heads on straight and seem excited about playing. Chris Douglas
says that Carl Franks has done an amazing job of keeping things positive.
Our argument has and will remain this: you have to believe before you can achieve.
So imagine for a minute that Duke moves on a plane with Notre Dame, Stanford,
and Northwestern. The fact that Northwestern has improved so dramatically
indicates that Duke could pull the same trick.
Remember, when Coach K showed up, no one thought that Duke would surpass UNC,
Maryland, Kentucky, Louisville, UNLV, UCLA, Indiana, and Georgetown?
Clearly, he is an exception, but no one knew that at the time. We're not
saying Carl Franks is (or isn't) a football version of Coach K, just that you
have to imagine it first. So here's some more: imagine gorgeous
facilities, highly motivated student-athletes, a packed stadium on Saturday
afternoons, and bowl games. Are we a long way away? Sure. But is it
possible? Absolutely it's possible. It can happen, but we have to do our
bit, too. And it's damn fun. Have you ever been around a program just as it took off? Man, what a great feeling. We'll never forget the ride in 1978, or Fred Goldsmith's one great season. Being part of that is just a great feeling.