Duke vs. Wake – September 11

For the first time since 1998, we did a road trip to Winston-Salem to watch the Duke – Wake Forest game on September 11 at BB&T Field. In addition to Chris and Tony, Chris’ roommate David also joined us.

Though Winston is only about 80 miles from Hillsborough, I got a little nervous the day before when Duke put out some travel advisories for fans making the trip because of some construction that closed portions of I-40 in Greensboro and because of the Winston-Salem Air Show show that was scheduled to run concurrent with the game at nearby Smith Reynolds Airport. So the guys worked out an alternate route where we could pickup I-40 after the construction closure. It was smooth sailing the whole way. Got up to Greensboro by around 7:35 AM and we pulled into the parking lot at around 8:10 for the 12:10 kick.

We had a great location, parking adjacent to the Lawrence Joel Coliseum right across the street from the stadium. The cost of each space was $6 I believe. We had a nice view of (and a short walk to) the stadium and there were some nice trees and greenery that we were able to back right up to.

In addition to the normal tailgate fare, Tony mixed things up and brought along two bottles of Johnny Bootlegger Malt Beverage. If you’re like me, you probably aren’t familiar with this adult beverage. It comes in 200 ml bottles in several flavors (Sing Sing Sour Grape in our case). It is %12 alcohol by volume and features a fruity Kool-Aid like initial taste and an after taste that falls somewhere between apple cider vinegar and radiator coolant (or what I imagine coolant might taste like). After one sip, I elected to wimp out and stick with the domestic light beers for the rest of the morning – discretion being the better part of valor or something like that.

Kind of an interesting marketing strategy employed by the parent company of this product, Geloso Group. Brand the products after some famous prisons and hearken back to the glamorous Prohibition Era! It might just be me, but when I think of the Prohibition Era, glamour doesn’t come to mind (unless you get off on the widespread proliferation of organized crime).

During the tailgate, a couple of older Duke Fans came over to chat. John and Wilbur hailed from Roxboro (about 30 miles from Hillsborough) and were both retired and long-time suffering Duke football fans. There is a special kinship that Duke Football fans share and we recounted the various eras of futility. John and Wilbur had been attending games since the early 70s so at least they got to enjoy the Spurrier years.

My timing on the other hand was not quite as good. My first year of going to Duke games was 1990 (the first year after Spurrier!) They were also partying pretty hard all morning and were sort of lit. They invited me to a pig-picking that they were setting up next Saturday for the big Alabama game. 

Tried out some new Oscar Mayer Bun Length Angus Beef Franks. Expensive, but highly recommended.

While we were throwing the football around, a friendly Wake fan in the tailgate next to us asked if he could join in. This guy was really into it. First it was me, him, and Tony. Then I rotated out and Chris jumped in. Then Tony rotated out and David joined in. This guy was like the Little Energizer Bunny – just kept throwing and throwing. (I felt guilty, like I should have had him on a pitch count or something. Hope his wing was OK the next morning.)

There had been a number of facilities upgrades to BB&T Field since last seeing it in 1998, but it still retains its intimacy. It feels like you are right on the sidelines. That is one of my big beefs with Wallace Wade – though it is small, the running track between the field and the stands creates distance. Not so at Wake. Our seats were around the 20 yard line, but they were high enough up that we still had good vantage when the ball was down at the other end of the field.

There is something to be said for smaller stadiums like BB&T and Wallace Wade. They certainly scream “small time” in some respects, but for the paying customer, I think there is tremendous value. For programs like Wake and Duke, the fan experience is so much more affordable. I get to watch BCS level football with cheap ticket prices – I don’t have to pony up PSLs or belong to any Booster Club (with its annual fees and giving levels). From a parking perspective, I don’t need prepaid parking passes. At Duke, after a game, I can get from my seat to my garage in about 30 minutes. I definitely understand that big time atmospheres like those at a white-out game in State College or damn near any SEC venue are special. I am just not sure about the value proposition when you add up all of the costs.

With the local air show miles away, I was thinking that there might be a flyover of some sort. So, as the National Anthem wound down, I had my camera ready but nothing materialized. Often the flyover will be synchronized with the end of the anthem. Naturally, about 45 seconds later, after the camera had been packed away in my pocket, we were treated to the awesome site of four Harriers.

In keeping with the pattern from last year, after holding off during the tailgate, the rain started coming down in the first quarter and didn’t really stop for the rest of the game. It varied from a light to medium drizzle. Unfortunately, I screwed up and didn’t bring any of the rain ponchos from Hillsborough, so all four of us were pretty soaked by days end for the trips back to Greensboro and Hillsborough.

But none of us were feeling as bad as the defensive coordinators in this game. The teams combined for 102 points in Wake’s 54-48 win, their 11th straight over Duke. When we started the tailgate, I thanked David (a Wake Forest fan) for joining us and told him that “at least one of us will be happy today and it will probably be you”. Still a good time was had by all. Here is a Flickr Slideshow from photos taken on September 11, 2010 at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina: