Saved By the Blog - Est. 2004

Just like on Friday night, My brother and I were in the front row, directly behind UConn's evil bench for the Elite Eight game on Sunday in DC.  We went in expecting to see UConn finally show what they are capable of and send Cinderella home.  Instead we got to see perhaps the biggest upset in the history of college basketball.

 Me on the court after the game.  Andy Katz is behind me and to my right you can see GMU celebrating on stage.

How did Mason do it? In my opinion it came down to four factors:

1. Mason had more heart and more fight.

2. Jai Lewis and Will Thomas (neither taller than 6’7”) dominated Hilton Armstrong and Josh Boone in the paint.  I’m still not sure how they did this, other than to tell you to refer to point No. 1.

3. It was basically a home game for GMU.  The Verizon Center was at least 80% in favor of Mason.  Anyone who was there on Friday to cheer on Washington or Wichita State was now rooting against Uconn (The Evil Empire).

4. Jim Calhoun represents all that is soul-less and wrong about college basketball and had it coming.

I couldn't believe I was there. We got to walk onto the court afterwards, stand below the baskets as Coach Larranga, Jai Lewis and others cut down the nets.  I was standing next to Lamar Butler as he had what seemed like a 10-minute tear-filled hug with his father.  I even ran into one of my professors, who also works in Mason's athletic department, and convinced him to give the entire class an 'A' on last week's exam.

UPDATE: In this space previously I had posted two amazing videos that we took from our seats.  "The Man" has asked me to remove them from my blog because apparently CBS paid a few bucks for the broadcasting rights.  I'd be more than happy to show you the videos in person if you feel like driving to Fairfax, VA.

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