The Perfect Ending for.....
..... Oct 22, ’12: Where have I been? Right here but distracted by a GREAT BOOK and assorted diversions of minimal but distractionary importance. Some of you get concerned and fret for my wellbeing. I do appreciate your fretations. I’m just fine. ..... which is better than can be said for a certain beleaguered alma mater. The Lyonnais potatoes in the Duke Press Box were terrific but the night as a whole not so
good.......
The book was
Night Fall by Nelson DeMille – the 3rd in DeMille’s John Corey series. A DeMille book whether audio or “real book” is a hefty commitment in time. His audio versions are 20+ hours and worth every minute (at least to me they are). Completing Night Fall, I am now half-way thru the six volume John Coreys.
Being halfway thru a series of wonderful “reistens” is a wonderful place to be. You are totally hooked on the characters and know you have many wonderful hours ahead of you. As you get towards the end of the published series of books you start lamenting that the great trip is almost over..... sigh, sniff. By this time next week I’ll be done or almost done and (duh!) lamenting. ......
Are John Corey stories better than Joe Pickett stories or Dewey Andreas or Myron Bolitar or....... ? Are The Righteous Brothers better than The Everly Brothers ? Who cares..... just enjoy’em. Not everything in Life has to be “rated” or ranked relative to everything else. At least not in my life.
Week Seven or Eight or whichever it is/was.....
The Wuffs now have had two consecutive dramatic last second victories – FSt and Maryland. In addition to being quite laudatory and commendable for all concerned, you know what that means.....
It means Wuff souvenir outlets will bring out their
“Cardiac Pack” t-shirts, caps, bumperstickers et al. Any time State wins anything in a dramatic last-second fashion someone declares “Cardiac Pack” because of the juxtaposition of that “ac” sound. But officially it can only be declared when it is a 2-win series. It can now.
Ten days ago Mountaineer Mania was all the rage in Morgantown. Gino Davis was a shue-in for The Heisman and not a single sofa or davenport was safe from ‘neer pyromaniacs. Then..... the ‘neers traveled to Lubbock and then a contingent from “The Little Apple” came avisiting. Beginning of the 4th quarter Saturday night, the upper deck of Whatever Their Stadium Is Called was emptier than ......... well, it was just empty. Pyromaniacs in West Virginia don’t handle the ebb and flow of competitive sports very well. Getting butt-whupped by 40+ points two consecutive weeks will do that to a likkered-up fan base.
Who’da figgered that the Manhatten celebrating sports victories in mid-October would be the one in central Kansas and not “that other one” east of New Jersey.
It’s late October and there is no Heisman front-runner. Maybe they won’t give one this year? Maybe this is the year that a deep-snapper finally wins it?
Speaking of “not this year”...... NOT a festive football Fall in Ye Olde Old Dominion. It’s mid-season and the only school in the Shenandoah Valley with a winning record is the James Madison Dukes. Whoa! Exit Sandman and Mr Jefferson weeps.....
OK.... speaking of Dukes:
I can’t describe Saturday Night At The Wally any better than I did in my chapelboro column so here it is. Yes, it’s all true – the part about the potatoes and the part about riding in the cadaver wagon. All of Life is indeed show prep and column fodder.......
Fedorians Fall.... Fans Freak
By BobLee – Monday Morning Quarterback
10 / 22 / 12
The better team on Saturday night at “The Wally” won on Saturday night. That’s how it often works but not always. To say that the game was not as close as the final score (33-30) would be correct but is simply too painful to write so I won’t.
The Fighting Fedorians simply did not fight or block or tackle well enough to beat Duke this time. UNC's defensive depth is shallower than a parking lot puddle. Reality Bites!
During a period of recent history not overflowing with upbeat positive news for Carolina fans, “losing to Duke in football” is about the last happening we needed to happen. In the priority of plagues. Does “losing to Duke in football” come before or after “rivers of blood” and “raining frogs”?
Is “losing to Duke in football” the worse news any Carolina fan could hear? No; the worst news any Carolina fan could hear would be:
Dan Kane wins The Lottery (and a Pulitzer) and will marry Kate Upton next Tuesday.
Everything is relative. Feel better now?
I think Carolina has more talented players than Duke has but the difference may not be as significant as my partisan opinion thinks. Duke simply outplayed Carolina this time. If “we” played them again next Saturday the results might well be different. We don’t play them next Saturday. Next week we play ______ . Well you know who we play next Saturday.
Speaking of "next Saturday"..... how will a gut-shot fan base respond? "Losing to Duke" on top of "everything else" could mean a home-field DISadvantage for The Fedorians. ???
I swore to myself years ago that I would never spend my own money to attend a game at The Wally. I haven’t and I won’t but I had media credentials for this one, so, yes I was there. The barbecue in the Duke Press Box is OK. The Lyonnais potatoes are very good. I had seconds on them.
For years I wrote about the horrid public restrooms on the Visitors side at The Wally. They were worst than field latrines in the Hindu Kush. 3-4 years ago the Duke Public Restroom Dept spent a great deal of money upgrading those facilities. They did a fine job. Every time I am at The Wally I visit that facility. I like to think I was responsible for it being built. Visiting my creation was the highlight of my most recent visit.
Whenever Carolina loses a “big” game; and often even when Carolina wins a game.... some Carolina fans say / write some very unusual comments relative to whoever is the Head Coach at the time. Those “some fans” targeted Larry Fedora for this one.
“Does he not realize Duke is a big rival?”
“Send that yahoo back to Mississippi......”
“How COULD HE.... ??”
and, of course, the inevitable
“At least Butch never lost to Duke.”
I haven’t checked directly with Coach Fedora but I’m going way out on a limb and saying He is a LOT more upset over that loss to Duke than all those “some fans” put together. I bet he is unhappy with (1) himself, (2) his staff and (3) his players. All three entities will have a very unhappy day or so..... then move on to new challenges.
I parked waaaay across the Duke campus in some parking garage. It might have been in Roxboro. Leaving The Wally, I got totally lost trying to find the garage and my vehicle. A 100-acre gothic rock pile is easy to get lost in.
Wandering aimlessly for 45 minutes, I came upon some people on a loading dock at a Duke hospital facility. They felt sorry for me. They offered to give me a ride to my vehicle in their vehicle; but I had to sign a waiver in order to do so. It was
a mobile morgue used to transport dead bodies.
Talk about a perfect ending to Saturday Night At The Wally.
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