Weblog
03/28/07 12:54 AM: Final Four
So in my facebook.com NCAA bracket, I successfully chose the teams that made it to the final four. Except for those UNC fans, I’ll bet a lot of people chose UCLA, Georgetown, Florida and Ohio St.
Since I went to Georgetown, and witnessed the return of basketball, I am immensely pleased. I still remember the vocal protests my sophomore year for the University to fire Craig Esherick. In just three years, John Thompson III has taken the team to the Final Four.
I was in Georgetown right after the come-from-behind win over UNC, and I would like to point out how well behaved the celebrations were. When we win the national championship on Monday, I’m not expecting anything different. (Insert UMD-College Park putdown here). While I may, at times, complain that some of my alma mater’s student body are loud and belligerent, I am very proud nothing got out of hand.
With a possible exception for Duke, it’s rather rare to see a school that is strong in both academics and athletics. It may be a sad commentary on American education, but prominence in Basketball can make a real difference for a school. Applications will rise, donations will come pouring in, and hopefully it help the entire school. Plus it gives us graduates nice bragging rights other than “have you heard how awesome our international politics programs are?”
I may have had some gripes with Georgetown as a student, but I’m very proud of our team, and of our school.
From the press conference in 2004 when John Thompson, III was announced as the new head coach:
“I grew up on this campus, I grew up in McDonough Gym,” Thompson said. “It’s a part of who I am in as much as Princeton is. But growing up … [there] was a chant that was, ‘We are Georgetown’ … I love it. Because it’s ‘We are Georgetown.’ And when you say that, it’s the institution, it’s the administration, it’s the community, it’s Washington, D.C., it’s the other teams, the other members of the athletic department, it’s our program. And that’s what we have, a program, not a team. We are Georgetown. And a few people have forgotten that we’re Georgetown, and we’re going to work our tails off to remind them.”
