You may have never known his name, but Steve Mitchell sat behind Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski in Duke University’s Cameron Indoor Stadium at Durham, North Carolina for 37 years.
Steve was born with Down Syndrome on Sept. 5, 1954, and died on June 4, 2017 after a brief illness.
The story goes that one year the only thing Steve wanted for Christmas was a Duke basketball ticket, not an easy score, but Steve’s brother had a construction company and was hired to renovate Coach K’s house. He asked him how one might find a ticket to buy and explained his brother’s Christmas wish.
“He can sit behind me,” Coach K told him. Indeed, the Blue Devil fan did attend his first Duke basketball game in 1980, after the personal invitation from Coach K.
The following season, Steve wrote him a letter saying, “Coach, I know we’re going to have another great year. I was hoping that I could sit near you again.”
Coach K wrote Steve back a handwritten letter saying that, “yes,” he could.
Steve and Coach K exchanged nearly the same letters for 37 years and 2017 was the first season that a ticket, reserved for one Steve Mitchell, wasn’t waiting at will call.
Steve would collect his ticket and make his way to his seat, a tradition that was life changing for his self-confidence, according to his family.
Coach K shook his hand before every game.
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Clever Journeys 
A big thumbs-up to Steve’s brother and Coach K for their kindheartedness. And another thumbs-up to Steve for having been such a devoted and supportive fan of Duke. :).
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💕🙏🏼💕🙏🏼🇺🇸
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You can’t beat a fan like that!!
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That’s another great, really sweet story. Jack: misprint alert! Duke is in Durham, NORTH Carolina, my Mom lives down the road from there. I know you knew that! But it’s so easy to miss a blooper!
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Will correct asap.
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I hated to tell you!
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Oh, I’m very glad you did. I wrote it in the middle of the night a week or so ago.
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That would do it .
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Thanks for catching what I obviously missed! 💕
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I can’t take much credit; my Mom lives in Chapel Hill, right down the road, my brother-in-law and nephew work at Duke, and I’ve visited.. Beautiful place. If you ever go, be sure to see Duke Gardens. By the way, Happy Mother’s Day last week!
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Duke Gardens. Duly noted. TY.
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