Scrimmages: Nobody to Cheer Against

10.19.8: Blue-White Scrimmage

And now things really begin (I’ll be saying that again next week for the first exhibition game, and then again for the regular season, and again for ACC season, and again for the tournaments, but…). The first (and only public) scrimmage of the year was yesterday at Duke University.

Just as the open practice welcomed us back to Cameron Indoor Stadium, yesterday’s events welcomed us back to somewhere we’ll be spending a lot more time this year:

The sidewalk.

We were greeted with chilly temperatures and cloud cover, a quick reminder of life waiting in line for games. Now, this was just a scrimmage, so the lineup wasn’t as intense as it’s going to become, but I’m willing to bet many we’re unprepared for or had forgotten that it can actually get pretty cold.

The sidewalk does, however, bring a number of fond memories and routines back. Simple things like making food runs, playing cards, and talking with likeminded people about the season are what makes the line experience so great. It was nice to return to that.

Returning to a lineup system also meant our first interaction with the new corps of line monitors, and as expected, the standard relationship was restored quickly. More on that as the season develops.

From the casual fan’s perspective, the Blue-White game (any scrimmage really) is a really cool occasion. There’s no pressure, the players are a little looser than usual (we had a sick display of dunks during the pregame warmups), and you certainly don’t have to arrive as early to get a good seat.

From the ridiculous fan’s perspective (read: me), it’s a bit annoying. While it’s great to see our talent displayed like this (and it was displayed), it’s really difficult to analyze these types of games. You can’t draw any conclusions from them. Worse, there’s nobody to cheer against! This invariably makes the crowd an awkward amalgamation of the standard offense cheers that die down as the day goes on (because it doesn’t matter).

While some (most) people don’t think of it consciously, one of the biggest reasons people cheer is because they think it matters, they think it makes a difference. In college basketball, most of the time they’re right. Scrimmages are not one of those times. Thus, for someone who lives to cheer, it’s a little frustrating. Still a lot of fun, but I’m much more excited about the first exhibition game next Saturday.

Virginia Union on the 25th. Gametime is almost here.

-III