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Preparing for the 11/01 away game vs Clemson
AWAY WEEK
AWAY WEEK
When Duke plays away from Wallace Wade, additional equipment preparation is needed. The equipment must be transported ahead of time, and it rests on the equipment team to load up the trucks and make sure they're ready. If the game is very far away, such as was the case with the University of California, Berkley (Cal) game on 10/4/25, the equipment must be packed and ready to go several days in advance to make sure it gets there on time. For games closer to home, it is an easier process, such as the Clemson game on 11/1/25.
With 3 uniform colors and various Duke logos to choose from, there are many decal combinations that can be used to design the helmets. Click the button below to view all the sets from the most recent full season:
Our Last Day on the Job
Our Last Day on the Job
Right outside in the hallway that separates the locker room and the equipment room, Chris and the team had set up a table and arranged helmets for each of us to work on.
Beside every helmet was a rag, and two bottles of Klean Strip Fuel to help remove the leftover decal residue after we removed each sticker. While we had been told about the process of "stickering" the helmets by the crew, actually participating was a different experience.
Each of us removed a blue chrome strip and two "hell raiser" logos on each side of the helmet, replacing them with a gothic print Duke logo. We also moved the numbers, previously separated by the chrome stripe sticker, closer together, along with the ACC football logo and the American flag stickers.
Clarke told us that at its fastest, the process would likely take a few minutes per helmet. It was not as easy as it may seem to get the new decals centered in their positions on the helmet. Luckily, we had a model to follow of what a completed helmet should look like. After each helmet was complete we returned it to its respective cubby (pictured on the right side of the image).
On the right is a before and after shot of the decal changes on the helmets >
On the right is a before and after shot of the decal changes on the helmets >
Life of the Helmet
Stickers of all sizes yanked off of me early Monday morning,
Such a cruel wakeup call
Like hair getting caught in a hair tie,
Each sticky piece is removed by familiar hands
A mask of stripes, numbers, and devil faces, and I’m stripped bare
Then comes Thursday, where unfamiliar, unsure hands attach
New bedazzlement to my neck, my ears, my head
The familiarity of chrome blue stripes
I just try on a repetition of the same colors, patterns
Each design decided by those who wear my crown
The fresh hands move me from the comfort of my cave
To the bright blue lights in a cavernous space
In my numbered stall, the face of a player above me,
I face towards the exit
I sit, in my new mask, awaiting my next performance
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