As Duke’s dream of a sixth national championship came to a crushing end with a 70-67 loss to Houston in the Final Four, some fans are playfully pointing fingers, not at the players, not at the coach, but at…the moms. In the lead-up to Saturday’s showdown, the buzz around the Blue Devils wasn’t just about freshman phenom Cooper Flagg or Coach Jon Scheyer’s game plan.
It was about the “Motherhood” the devoted group of Duke player moms who had gone viral for their plan to get matching tattoos if their sons won the national title. The idea was meant as a lighthearted show of unity, but in the aftermath of Duke’s narrow loss, it’s being blamed half-jokingly as a well-intentioned jinx.
Kelly Flagg, Cooper’s mom and ringleader of the tattoo idea, said on Friday she was ready to get inked anywhere (except her face) if Duke won it all. The group had even floated the edgy acronym “DDMF” as a possible design. But by Saturday night, dreams of tattoos had faded, replaced by stunned silence as the final buzzer sounded.
Even Coach Scheyer had joked about the tattoo plan, saying he might join in if Duke cut down the nets. Instead, the Blue Devils were left wondering what might’ve been after a valiant effort that came up just short.
Was it the tattoo talk? Probably not. But in a season full of storylines, the playful superstition now takes its place alongside a memorable if bittersweet Blue Devils run. One thing’s certain: those tattoos will have to wait.
