Of all the Duke Blue Devils fans at Lucas Oil Stadium for the team’s national semifinal game against the Michigan State Spartans, none stand out more than Tinky Winky.
The purple Telletubby was being channeled by Duke undergrad Yitaek Hwang as he cheered on Duke on Thursday.
"I found a spiritual bond with Tinky Winky on my recent trip to Africa," Hwang explained. "He's been a part of me ever since."
In reality, there was no trip to Africa and no spiritual bond. The purple costume with the triangle cap was simply a great Halloween costume for Hwang last year. But the story certainly was compelling.
Tinky Winky's presence at the game had nothing to do with his recognition as an LGBT icon. For years people have wondered if Tinky was gay due to his purple coloring and triangle, two symbols associated with the LGBT community.
Either way, we now know that Tinky Winky is a Duke fan. Rather, only a Duke fan would dare show up to the Final Four as Tinky Winky. Unless they were a member of the Stanford band.
Note: Tinky Winky's gender is still unknown. "He" was chosen to be used with a flip of a coin. No statement about the gender of the purple Telletubby was intended.
