More on the Trekkies Crazies

Mike Ogle of Page 2 does a much better job than me of examining why the Cameron Crazies aren't what they used to be. I wrote yesterday that they seem much creepier than in years past, and Ogle says as much (and more) in his article:

"The Cameron Crazies have jumped the shark. Cleared it by a good 50 feet. The most clever sign at Thursday's game? Certainly not "RAYMOND FELTON IS A $0.75 TAIWANESE SEX WORKER!" Whatever that means. Nor was it "SEAN MAY ATE ALL OUR COOKIES." Or "HEY ROY -- IN THE RARE CASE AN ERECTION LASTS MORE THAN 4 HOURS, PLEASE CONSULT YOUR DR." It wasn't even "CAROLINA BLUE IS JUST PAST TENSE FOR CAROLINA BLOWS."

None of the above. The one that hit closest to home belonged to a pair of Carolina fans in the middle of the madness. It read, simply, "POSERS." And it featured arrows pointing in every direction around them.

...The truths hurts. And what must be especially painful for the Crazies is that the truth is coming at them from observers in both shades of blue.

"It's been said for a while that [the atmosphere has] been down," said Andrew Eimer, a former Crazy from the class of 2003, in a phone interview before the game. "It happens to be a dorkier part of the student population. You realize it more when you're out of school."

You heard that right. The Crazies are now considered nerdy, even by Duke standards. Eimer isn't alone. Last year, a columnist at Duke's student newspaper wrote, "You cheer to be a part of your big, dorky club, one that's lost any pure root, root, root for the Blue Devils ... You're not even living up to your reputation -- one that gives you a lot more credit than you're worth."

Good. I'm glad I'm not the only person who noticed it. Ogle goes on for another page, but you get the point. If you really want to see to what depths the Nerd Patrol has sunk, check out their cheer sheet for the Duke-Carolina game (note to all nerds: anytime you meet in person or over the internet -- especially over the internet -- to put together something called a "cheer sheet," that's probably a sign you need to get out more often. And when I say "get out," I don't mean attending Star Trek/Dungeons & Dragons/comic books/or any other unisex event; I mean go to places where there actually might be girls. Give it a try ... and leave the afro wig and blue face paint at home).