Post by SirSaxa on Mar 10, 2005 11:50:08 GMT -5
Allow me to share a bit of the evening and the atmosphere at MSG for our Hoya brethren around the country who were unable to be in NYC for the BET.
First off, let me thank MEGAFAN for scoring two tickets in the Hoya section for myself and my friend Joe, another alum and long time Hoya fan. (It just shows that friendships made at GU, especially with hoops involved, can last a very long time!)
We all met at Cafe 31 for a beer before the game. We met lots of Hoya faithful there and MEGA introduced us to board members D-Train, Hoyachick and JahidiHoya. JahidiHoya told us about being voted "fan of the game" recently -- he wears a Hoya Uni and a Bull Dog mask to every Hoya game (think he's a rabid fan?) Among the many very entertaining stories we heard from JahidiHoya (remarkably for someone who dresses for games that way, he is not the least bit hesistant to share as many stories as you are willing to hear!) was one about meeting Jeff Green's mom at a recent game in DC. They even had their picture taken together and had a great time sharing the excitement of Hoya Hoops and our BE ROY! As it was time for the game, we went across the street to "the world's most famous arena" and agreed to meet up again later, between the evenings' games, at the PlaybyPlay -- a bar in the Garden.
My friend Joe, who is not a board member, was already having the time of his life meeting younger alumni and sharing everyone's enthusiasm for the renewed energy, life and promise of our hoops program with T3 leading the way. We got to our seats -- quite good ones in fact -- and who should we meet who is sitting there with us but Jeff Green's (very proud) Dad!
I know what you are wondering now...
did Jeff Green's Dad have a sign too? Well, no, he didn't have a sign like Jeff Green's mom. But as you might imagine, Jeff's dad -- Jeff Green Sr. -- is just as much fun as Jeff's mom, who was unable to be at the game due to circumstances in DC. While we are enjoying meeting and talking to Jeff Sr., congratulating him on his son's ROY award, thanking him for sending Jeff our way, etc. we are joined by three very cute GU sophomore coeds from NYC, home on spring break, and big fans too -- whose seats are right behind ours. We had a whole section of Hoya fans, nice folks, the girls knew some of the guys on the team, and we had Jeff's dad. What a great way to watch the game. As for Jeff's mom? Don't worry, she and Jeff's dad were talking via cell phone many times during the game.
Of course, we all went through the tough stretch -- the middle twenty mintues or so of the game when our Hoys fell into another funk -- before they went on that late 15-2 run to win. I won't go into the game here (lots of coverage elsewhere) except to share that I was saying the keys to me were DJ's treys and Jeff's boards and blocks. Whereupon Jeff Sr. told us how he had taught Jeff Jr. everything he knows about blocking shots....and after a beat... he added that for years now, Jeff Jr. has been blocking every shot Jeff Sr. tried to put up!
After the game, we invited Jeff Sr. to meet us at the Play by Play. I told Jeff's dad I wanted to buy him a beer -- the least I could do to thank him for sending Jeff our way. On the way out of our seats, I ran into Ramel's dad whom I had met in Hawaii when our Hoyas played in the Rainbow classic this year, and another tournament a few years ago. Ramel's dad is also a very good guy and very supportive of his son and the team. He told me that both he and Ramel are doing well.
(This is getting kind of long isn't it?)
Down at the jammed, loud and very excited PlaybyPlay bar, we manage to locate JahidiHoya (ok, yes, the outfit did make him slightly more noticeable in the crowd!) who is emotionally drained and exhilarated by our comeback victory. Of coure, the first thing we tell him is we can now top his story about Jeff's Green's mom, because we just watched the entire game with Jeff Green's dad. JahidiHoya freaked! He didn't really know if he should believe us, but we told him Jeff Sr. was on his way down to meet up with us in the bar. JahidiHoya was in Hoya heaven!
A few minutes later, in the midst of a huge and very loud crowd, Jeff Sr. finds us. Everyone is hand slapping, congratulating, screaming, buying beers, and JahidiHoya tells Jeff Sr. about meeting Jeff's mom. Jeff Sr. knew all about it, heard about the photo with the "Fan of the Game", and called Jeff's mom on the cell phone to put her on with JahidiHoya. JahidiHoya is now about to faint away from one of his greatest nights as a Hoya fan!
We continued our great night swapping Hoya stories. Turns out Jeff's dad has been a HOYA fan since he was a boy. He played HS ball in DC against his friends Johnny "Ba Ba" Duren and Craig "Big Sky" Shelton, who later led GU to within 1 point of the Final Four back in 1980 (pre-Ewing). He also knows Derrick Jackson -- one of our all time great Hoya guards in the mid-late '70s
Joe and I shared that we had a story or two ourselves, including being two of what must be a very small group of people, who were in attendance at John Thompson's very first game as HC of the Hoyas (a 61-60 victory over St. Francis at McDonough Gym in Nov. 1972) AND JT's last game as HC of the Hoyas (a 72-61 loss to SHU at the Continental Arena in NJ).
Among the great stuff you guys pretty much know anyway, Sr. confirmed that Jeff Jr. loves being a Hoya and all his teammates. Loves the school and the whole package. The team really likes and respects JT3, and Pops is around to help out whenever needed. Jeff Sr. believes that T3 is determined to bring GU back to where we all want to be and that he is doing everything he can to get us there.
Finally, he also confirmed that Jeff is still growing, is up to about 6'10 now, and the doctors did indeed project him to be 6'11 or so. Seems there are a lot of very tall men on Jeff Green's mom's side of the family, including at least one 7 footer!
OK -- thats enough. More than enough. I am writing almost as long as MCIGuy and FLHoya sometimes do! Only their pieces are much more focused, factual and analytical. Nonetheless, I hope some of you enjoyed sharing in a bit of the excitement we had last night at MSG!
The only things I will add are..
MEGAFAN -- Sorry we didn't manage to meet up again last night. We thought we'd find you at the PlaybyPlay. Thanks again for the TIX!
YB -- sorry I never found you at all.. I still owe you a beer. Maybe tonight.
And the one complaint I made to Jeff's dad..... he and Jeff's mom should have a had a few more boys!
Go Hoyas!
First off, let me thank MEGAFAN for scoring two tickets in the Hoya section for myself and my friend Joe, another alum and long time Hoya fan. (It just shows that friendships made at GU, especially with hoops involved, can last a very long time!)
We all met at Cafe 31 for a beer before the game. We met lots of Hoya faithful there and MEGA introduced us to board members D-Train, Hoyachick and JahidiHoya. JahidiHoya told us about being voted "fan of the game" recently -- he wears a Hoya Uni and a Bull Dog mask to every Hoya game (think he's a rabid fan?) Among the many very entertaining stories we heard from JahidiHoya (remarkably for someone who dresses for games that way, he is not the least bit hesistant to share as many stories as you are willing to hear!) was one about meeting Jeff Green's mom at a recent game in DC. They even had their picture taken together and had a great time sharing the excitement of Hoya Hoops and our BE ROY! As it was time for the game, we went across the street to "the world's most famous arena" and agreed to meet up again later, between the evenings' games, at the PlaybyPlay -- a bar in the Garden.
My friend Joe, who is not a board member, was already having the time of his life meeting younger alumni and sharing everyone's enthusiasm for the renewed energy, life and promise of our hoops program with T3 leading the way. We got to our seats -- quite good ones in fact -- and who should we meet who is sitting there with us but Jeff Green's (very proud) Dad!
I know what you are wondering now...
did Jeff Green's Dad have a sign too? Well, no, he didn't have a sign like Jeff Green's mom. But as you might imagine, Jeff's dad -- Jeff Green Sr. -- is just as much fun as Jeff's mom, who was unable to be at the game due to circumstances in DC. While we are enjoying meeting and talking to Jeff Sr., congratulating him on his son's ROY award, thanking him for sending Jeff our way, etc. we are joined by three very cute GU sophomore coeds from NYC, home on spring break, and big fans too -- whose seats are right behind ours. We had a whole section of Hoya fans, nice folks, the girls knew some of the guys on the team, and we had Jeff's dad. What a great way to watch the game. As for Jeff's mom? Don't worry, she and Jeff's dad were talking via cell phone many times during the game.
Of course, we all went through the tough stretch -- the middle twenty mintues or so of the game when our Hoys fell into another funk -- before they went on that late 15-2 run to win. I won't go into the game here (lots of coverage elsewhere) except to share that I was saying the keys to me were DJ's treys and Jeff's boards and blocks. Whereupon Jeff Sr. told us how he had taught Jeff Jr. everything he knows about blocking shots....and after a beat... he added that for years now, Jeff Jr. has been blocking every shot Jeff Sr. tried to put up!
After the game, we invited Jeff Sr. to meet us at the Play by Play. I told Jeff's dad I wanted to buy him a beer -- the least I could do to thank him for sending Jeff our way. On the way out of our seats, I ran into Ramel's dad whom I had met in Hawaii when our Hoyas played in the Rainbow classic this year, and another tournament a few years ago. Ramel's dad is also a very good guy and very supportive of his son and the team. He told me that both he and Ramel are doing well.
(This is getting kind of long isn't it?)
Down at the jammed, loud and very excited PlaybyPlay bar, we manage to locate JahidiHoya (ok, yes, the outfit did make him slightly more noticeable in the crowd!) who is emotionally drained and exhilarated by our comeback victory. Of coure, the first thing we tell him is we can now top his story about Jeff's Green's mom, because we just watched the entire game with Jeff Green's dad. JahidiHoya freaked! He didn't really know if he should believe us, but we told him Jeff Sr. was on his way down to meet up with us in the bar. JahidiHoya was in Hoya heaven!
A few minutes later, in the midst of a huge and very loud crowd, Jeff Sr. finds us. Everyone is hand slapping, congratulating, screaming, buying beers, and JahidiHoya tells Jeff Sr. about meeting Jeff's mom. Jeff Sr. knew all about it, heard about the photo with the "Fan of the Game", and called Jeff's mom on the cell phone to put her on with JahidiHoya. JahidiHoya is now about to faint away from one of his greatest nights as a Hoya fan!
We continued our great night swapping Hoya stories. Turns out Jeff's dad has been a HOYA fan since he was a boy. He played HS ball in DC against his friends Johnny "Ba Ba" Duren and Craig "Big Sky" Shelton, who later led GU to within 1 point of the Final Four back in 1980 (pre-Ewing). He also knows Derrick Jackson -- one of our all time great Hoya guards in the mid-late '70s
Joe and I shared that we had a story or two ourselves, including being two of what must be a very small group of people, who were in attendance at John Thompson's very first game as HC of the Hoyas (a 61-60 victory over St. Francis at McDonough Gym in Nov. 1972) AND JT's last game as HC of the Hoyas (a 72-61 loss to SHU at the Continental Arena in NJ).
Among the great stuff you guys pretty much know anyway, Sr. confirmed that Jeff Jr. loves being a Hoya and all his teammates. Loves the school and the whole package. The team really likes and respects JT3, and Pops is around to help out whenever needed. Jeff Sr. believes that T3 is determined to bring GU back to where we all want to be and that he is doing everything he can to get us there.
Finally, he also confirmed that Jeff is still growing, is up to about 6'10 now, and the doctors did indeed project him to be 6'11 or so. Seems there are a lot of very tall men on Jeff Green's mom's side of the family, including at least one 7 footer!
OK -- thats enough. More than enough. I am writing almost as long as MCIGuy and FLHoya sometimes do! Only their pieces are much more focused, factual and analytical. Nonetheless, I hope some of you enjoyed sharing in a bit of the excitement we had last night at MSG!
The only things I will add are..
MEGAFAN -- Sorry we didn't manage to meet up again last night. We thought we'd find you at the PlaybyPlay. Thanks again for the TIX!
YB -- sorry I never found you at all.. I still owe you a beer. Maybe tonight.
And the one complaint I made to Jeff's dad..... he and Jeff's mom should have a had a few more boys!
Go Hoyas!
