Apparently the struggles of Maryland's basketball team have
not gone unnoticed by the students, who have deserted Comcast in droves.
Once called the "best fans in America" by Coach Gary Williams, the
Sweaty One is singing
a different tune these days.
Gary (it's kind of a cool ACC tradition to call coaches by
their first name - Gary, Lefty, Dean, Norm, Herb,and in a similar vein, V and K)
calls them out in the Washington Post, saying that "we have 10 years as
good as any team in the country, except maybe Duke, in terms of what we've
done. We've earned the right to have a good crowd here. . . . A lot of
schools would like to have this basketball team at their school. Our guys have
done everything right off the court, and we need the support of our student
body."
He pointed to the Crazies by comparison, saying that they were
in line two hours before the Maryland game, despite Duke's having lost two
straight.
Part of the reason for that, of course, is that the students
feel very connected to the team and also take responsibility for the success and
failure of Duke basketball. It's not as much fun as cursing opponents or
chunking bottles at middle-aged women, but what the hey. When you're not the
best fans in America, you have to work with what you have.