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On Thursday night, Emma Infanti wrote her sociology paper under a tent outside of the Carrier Dome, with a snow storm on the horizon. In preparation for the expected cold weather, Infanti brought three blankets and a set of hand warmers.

“It’s going to be a cold night, but I’ll get through it,” said the freshman, who also wore three layers of clothing.

By 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night, fans had already begun setting up tents outside of Gate E at the Carrier Dome in anticipation of the Syracuse University versus Duke University men’s basketball game on Saturday.

Students demonstrated their passion for the Orange by camping out to secure the best seats for Saturday’s game. On Thursday night, campers endured a snowstorm that was projected to produce nearly a foot of snow.

The event, called the Duke Camp Out, is annually organized by Otto’s Army, SU’s largest student-run fan organization that helps connect students with SU athletics. This year, the campers were there two days ahead of the game, and the student section broke its attendance record after initially breaking it just four months before at the football game against Clemson University on Oct. 15, 2021.

One group of five campers sharing a medium-sized tent brought a box from Varsity Pizza and multiple Chipotle bowls as they arrived at the Gate E entrance of the Dome. Freshman Connor Monfort, was accompanied by his friends and fellow freshmen Alyssa Curtin, Hannah Baker, Wyeth Karpovich and Diana Stone, who all said they were there because of Monfort.

“I’m from Rochester, so I’ve been a huge ‘Cuse fan my entire life, and I wanted front row seats for the Duke game,” Monfort said. “This is the biggest game of the year, and it’s Coach K’s last game against Syracuse, so I wanted good seats.”

Across the landing, freshman Luke Hasenwinkel occupied the biggest tent at Gate E.

“The tent was actually bought about three hours ago,” Hasenwinkel said.

He said his “undying love for our basketball team” is what motivated him to camp out these past two days. The tent is big enough that Hasenwinkel, who stands at 6’4, has a stool inside of it and can still sit comfortably without touching the ceiling.

He was accompanied by three of his friends, who all said they were excited to see the Orange take home the win.

Like Monfort, Hasenwinkel grew up as a Syracuse fan, making this game part of his fan legacy.

“Ever since I was little I wanted to come here, and now that I’m actually bleeding Orange, I’m getting firsthand experience by camping out with the fellow fans of Syracuse,” Hasenwinkel said. “We’re gonna beat Duke, and that’s what (it) means to bleed Orange.”

To keep the campers in order, there must be one camper in the tent at all times, and at least two campers must be in the tent overnight between 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.

On Friday, Jim Boeheim surprised the campers, who came out to show support for them. Boeheim came with assistant coach Allen Griffin and Otto the Orange.

“The fact that he came out and showed his support to us because we’re showing our support to him is really important, and it really rallied the troops here,” said Jonathan Danilich, a senior advisor for Otto’s Army.

After spending Thursday night outside of Gate E, the campers were allowed inside to watch the team practice while enjoying free pizza for dinner. Other campers went the extra mile to stay entertained — freshman Andrew Selover and his friends set up a TV in their tent, along with an Xbox, on which they watched college basketball and played Fortnite.

Danilich said the bigger meaning behind the Duke Camp Out is the sense of community.

“You get to meet a lot of awesome people that love the same thing — cheering on the Orange,” Danilich said.

Published on February 27, 2022 at 11:15 pm

Contact Paola: pggonzal@syr.edu