Aside from totally messing up my bracket, Georgetown ruined the opportunity for a local match up with Maryland. [Full disclosure: I'm a Maryland alum so this will be a biased posting]. The reality is that we shouldn't have to wait for the unlikely scenario of playing each other in the post season.
The two teams last played each other in a consolation game of an early season tournament in 2008. Prior to that, they played each other during the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA's in 2001. But the last true regular season game between the two schools was in November 1993 at the USAir Arena (formerly Cap Center). I was fortunate enough to attend that game. To this day, that game is probably the best live sporting event I've ever seen. (Terp fans: check out the YouTube video below). That game was the first one between the schools in 13 years. A day after the game, Tony Kornheiser's column in the Washington Post led off with:
"By all means you want to see this again. Oh, sure, absolutely. You want to see Maryland play Georgetown next year. You surely don't want to wait another 13 years for this. Thirteen years between games. What was that, bar-mitzvah scheduling?"
Well, it's now been almost 17 years. Someone born that day can now drive and see an R-rated movie without a parent or guardian. My understanding of the situation is that Maryland Coach Gary Williams is happy to play Georgetown again as long as it takes place at Comcast Center, the Terps' home court -- since the 1993 game took place at USAir arena, which was Georgetown's court for the majority of their home games (today, it's Verizon Center). Georgetown's argument is that Verizon Center is more of neutral court for both squads. A valid argument; however, it is not Maryland's fault that Georgetown does not have an on-campus arena outside of McDonough that is large enough for such a game. So why not alternate Comcast/Verizon every year and give local fans the unrivaled rivalry that we deserve?
The BB&T Classic
And speaking of Verizon Center, the BB&T Classic, which has raised millions of dollars for the Children's Charities Foundation, switched formats several years ago from a four-team two-day tournament to just two games on one day. Perhaps the local powers that be could use this tournament as an opportunity to make the possibility of a Terps/Hoyas rivalry a reality by turning this back to a real early season tournament. It could include: Maryland, Georgetown, GW and George Mason. Perhaps the BB&T could be a compromise option if Maryland and Georgetown can't agree to terms for a yearly match up. Let's make it happen!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment