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You could hear the thumping drumbeat of the marching Sound Machine blocks away.
It may not have felt like a football night -- "too hot and sticky," N.C. Central University fan Tony Chavis said -- but several thousand people crowded into Historic Durham Athletic Park on Thursday night for an old-fashioned pigskin party.
The Bull City Football Fest celebrated in anticipation of Saturday night's first-ever football encounter between NCCU and Duke, "two great universities that unbelievably are just five miles apart," Blue Devil coach David Cutcliffe told the crowd.
The fest offered food and drink, activities for kids that included a climbing wall and a moon walk, and music from the Sound Machine, the Eagles' pep band, and the Blue Devil marching band. There were cheerleaders and mascots, hot dogs and barbecue.
Most of all, the event gave supporters of both schools a chance to mingle, talk a little trash and support their school.
"We're here to support Central," Chavis said. "I just about grew up on the Central campus and they are my team."
His wife, Gloria Chavis, said the couple had already bought their tickets for the game at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium. "We're all set," she said. "We wouldn't miss it for the world."
Kristen Ammon, who works at Duke, came with her 3 1/2 year-old son, Elias, to support the Devils. However, they were also there, she acknowledged, because the event "was kid-friendly and the barbecue is from Bullock's."
Rick Farrington, sitting at one of the many tables on the ballpark's infield, was one of those in attendance who was torn by allegiances.
"I'm a Central man, but I work for Duke," Farrington explained. "Do you think Central has a chance? I say Duke by 25, but I hope it's at least close."
The Eagles supporters -- many of them in Eagles maroon and gray -- easily outnumbered the Duke fans at the fest and gave the Eagles cheerleaders and the marching band loud ovations when they performed. But the Central fans also politely applauded the Duke cheerleaders and the Duke cheerleaders, in turn, clapped along with the music when the Central cheerleaders performed.
Instead of wrestling, the Duke Blue Devil mascot and the Central Eagle danced together and posed for pictures for fans of both schools.
"This is exactly what we wanted it to be," said Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president for public affairs as he looked out over the field. "Good food, a good time and getting ready for some good football."
