The Duke Blue Devils are the hottest basketball ticket in America, in my opinion. You cannot buy a ticket unless you are asked and you won’t be asked unless you are a mega-donor, an ultra mega-donor, a student, faculty member, or grad student. Let me illustrate just how hard these suckers are to get.

On the second weekend in September the graduate students are invited to participate in a drawing the likes of which I have never heard. The drawing will be held at about 7am on that particular Sunday morning but if the students wish to take part they must report to the parking lot adjacent to Cameron indoor stadium 36 hours before the lottery takes place.

The grads must bring a tent and campout on site. Now, mind you, this is only for the grad students. When you arrive you must check in at the ticket headquarters tent. You write down your name and they put you in the lottery. There is no special order, everyone gets an equal chance at purchasing said tickets. By the way, these are season tickets only. Game by game tickets are not available. You must take all or take nothing.

This was explained to me by a grad student from Duke so it may be slightly embellished. Forgive me if I err. (pronounced air) Every hour a whistle is blown. At the sound of the whistle each participant in the lottery must report to the tent to let them know that they are still present. If they do not make the check-in then their name is removed from the list. No exceptions.

Many, if not most of the grads, get together and form pools where if any one of them draws season tickets they will divide them among the members of the pool. This gives more people an opportunity to attend at least one or two games a season. It’s the best chance they have and one or two games is much better than none at all.

There are usually more than 1000 grad students who attend the lottery weekend. The amount of tickets varies but there are usually not more than a few hundred up for grabs. All those whose names are drawn pay full price, on the spot, for their tickets and are proud to do so.

Noone that holds a Duke ticket ever misses a game. (remember who told me all this) Everyone arrives at least two hours early for each contest. They do not sit down from the time they enter until the final buzzer. They are known as “The Cameron Crazies” for good reason. The next time the University of North Carolina plays Duke at home, be sure and watch the “Crazies” in action. They do all this out of love and respect for their team, their coaches, and especially for their University. They are proud and they draw glory to the basketball program at Duke.

The Duke Blue Devils are revered and worshipped by many, if not all, of their followers as proven by their willingness to go to all lengths to be in their presence. Can the same be said of the followers of Jesus? Can the same be said of me? I’ll see you on the parking lot.