Now let me just start by saying I am not a fan of the cold. It’s not that I’m not used it to it — I grew up in northern New Jersey. I just prefer the warmer temperatures so I can wear my speedo and show off my “sexy bod.” Okay, that’s a lie. But, seriously I am just not a cold-weather person.

When some of my friends brought up the idea for camping out for the Duke game, I was reluctant to say the least. Eventually by the beginning of last week I agreed… c’mon it’s Syracuse vs. Duke. However, after freezing every fiber in my body walking in -11-degree weather the next day just to go to class, I IMMEDIATELY regretted that decision.

So you could expect my joyous reaction after finding out I was scheduled to sleep in our tent the very first night. The inaugural overnight, a 14-hour shift from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m.

In the very beginning I thought I was fine, comfortable even. I had two pairs of socks, a long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, and a jacket. I brought a sleeping bag, pillow, and my laptop. Two of my roommates and I just chilling and watching the end of the Michigan-Michigan State mens’ basketball game.

Then it got worse, much worse. After my roommates left, and two of my other friends came to take their place for the overnight shift with me, the temperature quickly dropped to 10 degrees. We tried to take our minds off the cold by watching some TV on our laptops and eating some food. By 1 a.m. we decided to just try to go to sleep, if possible.

That lasted a solid three hours, until I realized I had to go to the bathroom. Hey, when nature calls, nature calls. You know that feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night and you know you have to get up to go the bathroom, but you’re just too lazy to get out of bed and walk down the hall. Try walking in the frigid cold. Not fun.

After another three hours of sleep, I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and just gave up. With a potentially mild case of frostbite on my feet, and my hands somewhat numb, I laid motionless, counting the minutes until I was relieved of duty, just praying to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You know, C.J. Fair, Tyler Ennis, and Jim Boeheim.

When the next group came to take over, I jumped out of the tent and made my way back to the Boland Brewster Brockway dorms. Relief and happiness swept over me. However, that was quickly replaced by dread and despair after realizing I was scheduled for tonight’s overnight as well. Yup, back-to-back overnights.

We better beat Duke…

Published on January 26, 2014 at 11:20 am