Now, I like both of those nicknames. “Ducks” is whimsical for a school with the name Duquesne, and “Illini”, well that’s the fucking Indian tribe that the state gets its name from!
I’m for the “Ducks”.
- They’re from Pittsburgh.
- They’re underdogs—this is the first time they’ve made the NCAA tourney in 47 years!
- I rooted for them in my earliest years.
In the 1960’s the NCAA tournament was nothing, the NIT was the Big Dance. In the 1960’s Pitt was nothing in basketball, Duquesne was Pittsburgh’s major college basketball team. Duquesne made the NIT—they were good—Pitt played like Grove City College. Pitt played in Fitzgerald Field House, an ancient band box so small that Northern Cambria High School won the state (the state of Pennsyltucky, Class B (excluding teams from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia)) championship in 1965 in a game “staged” at Fitzgerald Field House. Madison Square Garden it was not.
So, Ich bin ein Duquesner. Go “Ducks”.
