MSU scene-setter: Duke's Cameron Crazies are apparently facepainters

DURHAM, N.C. – As soon as the doors open, the Cameron Crazies begin to flood the arena stands.

All of Krzyzewskiville crams itself into the rickety, old, wooden bleachers alongside Coach K Court. Three Duke players take some light warmup shots. Doesn’t matter who it is, their classmates beckoned for their approval like paparazzi on the Sunset Strip.

“JACK WHITE!” “GRAYSON!” “HARRY GILES! Even though he’s hurt.”

A thumbs-up here. A big smile and a wave there.

It’s an hour-and-a-half before tipoff between Michigan State and No. 4 Duke. Cameron Indoor Stadium isn’t even close to midway of its capacity, but the face paint and chants are out in full force.

One guy in a royal blue suit and white shirt ambles past the student section, frantically flailing his arms and beckoning to his peers. “LET’S GO! LET’S GOOOOOOOO!”

They oblige with a cacophonous, indecipherable din.

One student near the front row raises a white sign. On one side, scrawled in black marker, is “Middle Tennessee State 90, Michigan State 81,” a good-natured shot at the Spartans’ first-round NCAA tournament exit. The other, much more crass – “The water tastes better in North Carolina,” a thinly veiled, in-poor-taste reference to the water crisis in Miles Bridges’ hometown of Flint.

A security guard eventually takes it away about 40 minutes away from tipoff.

The Spartans retreat to their locker room, and the Crazies send them off with a steady “oohhhhhh” and group wave. Slowly, a handful of green-and-white-clad fans begin filtering into the stands behind their bench.

Two of them – a guy wearing a white gruff Sparty shirt and a girl wearing a “Spartans” baseball hat and Spartan helmet-logo shirt, stand a few feet away from the Duke pep band. They clap and chant the MSU fight song in a silent fashion, drowned out by the sea of blue surrounding them.

Maybe that’s their bucket list wish, like winning here is on Tom Izzo’s.

The thump of the bass drum hits, the chant of “Let’s Go Duke!” begin.

Their Blue Devils race onto the court. The Spartans dash out anonymously at the other end.

The energy and anticipation reaches a fevered pitch. MSU vs. Duke is a half-hour away.

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari.

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