On a day when much of the sports world hangs on the every word of a bunch of athletically gifted and over-hyped 18-year-olds, Maryland has more important things to worry about.
Expected to bring in an underwhelming 2011 football recruiting class, Terps fans are more focused on who’ll be in College Park more immediately, like, tonight: the Duke Blue Devils.
It might not be the biggest sports rivalry game…except, for Maryland hoops fan, it’s the biggest rivalry game. (Some have said it’s a one-sided rivalry and Duke doesn’t care as much but really, does anyone care what Duke cares about? No. Moving on…)
It’s a game that Maryland, on a hot streak, has a good chance to win. The Terps narrowly lost the last matchup, at Duke, last month - and let’s be honest, they should’ve won that game. But that was last month, in the middle of the Terps’ frustrating run of games in which they had a lead, lost the lead, self-destructed, and lost the game.
That was then. Duke is tonight, at Comcast Center, and the #5 Blue Devils are looking much more vulnerable than they did the last game, most recently losing to St. John’s in a huge upset.
Of course, that’s what worries me. Duke is perfectly capable of rebounding from that game, coming in fired up and ready to roll right over the Terps. No one wants to be a rebound, least of all Maryland, especially when it comes to Duke.
The Terps have played Duke very well in College Park the last two seasons. Thanks to the extreme generosity of my awesome friend Mike, I was there last year when Maryland pulled off the win to claim a share of the ACC title, and I’m pretty sure that no matter how many more games I attend, in any sport, that one will stay in the top five. Jordan Williams’ dunk? So awesome. (P.S. Jordan - Do it again tonight, k?)
The 2009 game, when I ponied up the big bucks to take my dad to his first Maryland game, is close behind. The Terps almost-but-didn’t-quite win, but my favorite dude, Dave Neal, had pretty much the most amazing screen on Duke’s Nolan Smith EVER. For real, watch it. And you can read my post about it here.
For the first time in three years, basically the first time since Maryland basketball really meant something to me (yeah, I know, I was late to the party on that one) I won’t be at the Comcast Center when Duke comes to town. That just means all the Maryland dunks need to be bigger and the screens need to harder so they look just as exciting when I’m watching from home. And Maryland fans, if you’re lucky enough to be at the game, y’all better make some noise for me.
