FS1
College basketball season officially got underway on Monday, and while the initial slate of games produced plenty of notable moments, I don’t think any of them stand out quite like the live duck that made an appearance at the first Providence College contest of the year.
One of the best parts of college basketball is the student sections that can play a key role in shifting the momentum in favor of the team with home-court advantage; the Clippers are doing what they can to bring that kind of energy to the NBA with “The Wall” of loyal fans at the Intuit Dome, but its hard to match the passion that comes with hundreds (or, in some cases, thousands) of undergrads rooting for the same cause.
You usually don’t have to look too hard to find some quirky characters when the camera turns its attention to the student section during a game, but one fan really stood out from the rest of the pack when Providence College opened up its season against Central Connecticut at the venue any true New Englander still refers to as “The Dunk.”
The Friars weren’t expected to have much trouble with a Blue Devils team that headed into the contest as an 18.5-point underdog, but their opponents apparently didn’t get the memo.
CCSU made life incredibly difficult for a Providence College team that found itself trailing by two at the half, and the two squads were knotted at 55 points apiece without around a minute-and-a-half remaining in the contest. However, the Friars escaped the scare with a couple of free throws that turned out to be the deciding factor in their 57-55 win.
Now, I have no way to prove the live duck that somehow ended up in the student section was able to generate the positive vibes Providence College needed to eke out the victory, but I’m going to roll with the “Rally Duck” theory until I encounter concrete evidence to debunk it.
#theduck pic.twitter.com/bGmT83oclQ
— FʀɪᴀʀTV (@FriarTV) November 5, 2024
When you consider the Friars have one of the most terrifying mascots college basketball has to offer, I’m all in favor of P.C. adopting the duck as its new representative.
All hail The Duck.