Steve and the Tank! - Georgetown or Notre Dame? Fughedaboutit

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Friday's Big East Conference Tournament semi-final presented the penultimate dilemma for the Tank. Who to root for? Georgetown or Notre Dame?

I can't root for Georgetown as I am die-hard Syracuse fan. The rivalry ran so deep that I could NOT root for the Knicks from 1985 until 1999 since Patrick Ewing played for Georgetown. I finally let that anger go in 1999 when Ewing's career ended with the Knicks and LJ sunk the four point play on June 5, 1999. Linda may have not understood the deepness of the rivalry until PermaGuest Outlaw Jack's girlfriend, Michelle, confirmed her similar anti-Georgetown feelings later Friday evening with "Friends don't let friends go to Georgetown" in addition to other unprintable quotes.

I can't root for Notre Dame because they beat Syracuse on Thursday. Furthermore, I didn't attend but was offered admission to the University of Miami ("The U"). Miami was a fierce football rival of Notre Dame so I have more reasons not to root for Notre Dame. The Catholics versus the Convicts was one of the best storylines in college football of all time, especially the 1980s.

To paraphrase Vladimir Lenin's "What Is To Be Done?", Who should the Tank root for?

Neither team which is a first in any sport from baseball to cricket. I only went to the game because Linda had never been to a live college basketball game or I would have sold the tickets. Her theory of basketball is that the final five minutes of the game are most watchable proved true. I didn't watch the game except for the last minute of the first half and the last five or six minutes of the second half except for taking the photo below.

I regaled (or bored) her with college basketball stories and trivia. For instance, the Tank's team at Jim Boeheim's Basketball Camp won the Camp Championship in 1985. This one of the highlights of the Tank's life as our group of hustling overachievers won the Camp Championship on the very same floor as the Orangemen play on. During that same Camp, I also met then Philadelphia 76er Charles Barkley. Since the Tank didn't play in a band, this was his "Band Camp". Priceless memories :-)

Four short years later in March 1989, the Tank ran onto the court after the Billy Owens led Orangemen beat Alonzo Mourning and the Georgetown Hoyas.

I was psyched to learn that Linda is a distant relative of Saint John's Hall of Fame Coach, Lou Carnesecca. How cool is that?!

Back to the game, the Hoyas were down as many as 14, 35-21, in the first half. I put my glasses on in the second half and watched them rally. The game went back and fourth in the second half. Ewing's son, Patrick Junior, played well including a nice touch on some shots that many Knicks fans wished his dad had more of.

Notre Dame tied it late at 78-78 but Georgetown pulled out the victory 84-82.

Posted by the Tank from the world's Greatest Arena, Madison Square Garden, in NY.

College Basketball | Live!

Saturday, March 10, 2007 3:45:24 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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