A Little Piece of Cameron, Wherever Blue Devils Gather

By: Megan Hujber

On game days in San Francisco, Northstar Cafe turns Duke blue.

About 30 minutes before tipoff, Claire Kaptinski B.S.E.’17 arrives with a few posters under her arm. She tapes them to the walls while the bartenders hang a Duke flag in the window so anyone walking by knows where the Blue Devils are playing that day.

Watching the Duke–UNC game at Northstar has been Kaptinski’s tradition since she moved to San Francisco. It started simply: a Facebook event, a handful of alumni and a little word of mouth. But each year the gathering grew, sometimes drawing more than 150 people.

“It feels like a little piece of Cameron in San Francisco,” Kaptinski says.

Across the country, the same spirit plays out in different ways. For some alumni, watch parties begin years after graduation. For others, the tradition stretches back decades.

Lars Scofield ’92 remembers exactly when it began for him.

He was 16 when he jumped on the Duke bandwagon during the team’s run to the 1986 national championship game. But the moment that sealed it came when he walked into Cameron Indoor Stadium during a college visit.

“I was smitten,” he says. “Cameron had me at hello.”

As a student, Scofield experienced one of the most successful eras in Duke basketball history, including the program’s back-to-back national championships.

Long after graduation, the games continued to bring people together. During the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis, he met a group of Duke fans who would later become close friends. When he moved to New York the following year, the group reconnected and began watching games together regularly.

“If Duke hadn’t advanced to the 2010 Final Four, I likely would never have made some of those friendships,” he says.

Certain moments capture that shared experience perfectly.

In Chicago, the tradition looks a little different but carries the same energy.

Eric Sukumar B.S.E.’09 still brings the same enthusiasm he had as a Cameron Crazie. As a student he attended nearly every game, served as a four-year tent captain and showed up in full costume, from body paint to a king outfit and custom Duke armor.

After moving to Chicago, he became involved with the Duke alumni network. Following the pandemic, he noticed something missing.

“There was a void for Duke basketball game watches in Chicago,” he says. “So I decided to start them up again.”

The gatherings quickly grew. Last year more than 300 people showed up for a Final Four watch party.

On game day, Sukumar arrives early, often with his face painted Duke blue, helping organize pregame hype videos, Cameron-inspired playlists and Duke flags throughout the bar. Once the game starts, chants vibrate the walls of the room.

Ellyse Hamlin ’19, a former Duke women’s tennis player, helps organize the Chicago events as well. For her, supporting Duke athletics has always been part of the experience.

“Being part of the student-athlete community meant supporting all sports,” she says.

One of her first game watches inspired her to create a Duke Chicago WhatsApp group so alumni could stay connected and keep track of future events.

“It gives people a place to find the Duke community in Chicago,” she says.

The crowd reflects the reach of the alumni network: recent graduates, longtime residents, parents and fans, often bringing friends who become part of the tradition.

Back in San Francisco, Kaptinski sees the same dynamic unfold each season. Strangers pack into Northstar shoulder to shoulder, united by the same emotions. When Duke pulls ahead late in a Duke–UNC game and the song “Everytime We Touch” starts playing, the room briefly breaks into singing and dancing before everyone snaps back to the game.

If someone walked into one of these gatherings for the first time, she says they would immediately feel the togetherness.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you graduated or whether you know the person next to you,” Kaptinski says. “Everyone is united and rooting for the same outcome with the same energy and pride.”

Find a Duke game watch party near you!