Post by SirSaxa on Mar 26, 2007 14:25:20 GMT -5
I may be the only person in history who ever got on a plane in Hawaii – in March no less – looking forward to traveling to the beautiful paradise destination of…. Secaucus, New Jersey?!?!
OK, couple days ago I bragged on this board that I was flying in from Hawaii to see the UNC game because my son somehow got hold of two seats 6 rows behind the baseline (on the GU side!) and told me one had my name on it! So I guess I had better finish the story and relate my tale of being at that classic game – one of Georgetown’s ALL TIME great games – for those of you who could not be there. I wish every one of you could have been.
This trip may have seemed like one of the wackiest things I have ever done – a 10,000 mile round trip flight just to watch a single game that was on TV anyway. But the 30-6 Hoya run starting with 7 minutes to go when we were down 75-65 turned the whole thing into a once-in-a-lifetime escapade that my sons and I will remember for the rest of our lives!
It started Thursday night. My son Chris called from NY to tell me he had secured these two spectacular tix for Sunday. He wanted me to come. One thing I knew for sure, I couldn’t commit and book a flight until after the Vandy game due to the titanic jinx potential of premature e-jock-elation! We had to win the damn game first. Thanks to God’s gift to Georgetown, one Mr. Jeff Green, we won that game and you all know the story.
Last second airline tickets were over $2000! But for once in my life, an AA Frequent Flyer ticket was actually available at a time I wanted! So I traded in 70,000 miles for a trip to NYC. I took a Saturday flight that arrived in NYC at 7:00 AM. Had a brief nap and my old college buddy Joe drove us to the Meadowlands… site of many GU-SHU games we had attended over the years.
Beautiful sunny day, we pull into the designated Hoya Talk board parking lot for the pre-game party. New Jersey never looked so good! I cannot adequately describe the scene. HUNDREDS of Hoya fans, all tailgating, drinking, singing, cheering – totally PYSCH’D for an awesome event. We ran into VictorSkyPage – totally pumped!! Pretty soon the entire Café 31 contingent is there: Gigafan, DTrain, FHillsHoyaNY, Johnnytwotimes. A glass or two of cheer was had and many a toast shared. Where was Krukster?!?!
For those of you unfamiliar with the Meadowlands, Continental Arena and Jets Stadium (and a horse racing track) are all there and share a giant parking lot. I’ve had JET tickets for 20 years, the location is totally familiar, but I never enjoyed a pre-game ritual more than this!
Painted faces, wild costumes (full bunny gear?!?!) and the best sign I saw in the parking lot -- I don’t know if it made it onto TV, but it read: “Our Roy is bigger than Your Roy”!! Whoever wrote that one… Great job!
In the midst of all this celebration and anticipation who should walk into the crowd but Mr. and Mrs. JahidiHoya accompanied by JEFF GREEN’S MOM! The crowd of several HUNDRED Hoya faithful - -mostly in Gray III T-Shirts – starts chanting: JEFF GREEN’S MOM, JEFF GREEN’S MOM! Followed immediately, of course by that classic fan favorite ONE MORE YEAR!
Jeff’s mom is an absolute doll. It seemed like every student – and many alums – wanted a photo with Jeff’s mom. There was even a UNC student who stepped in for his photo op with Mom! Jeff’s dad showed up too and other family members. I can’t adequately convey to you what a remarkable family this is. Jeff’s mom told us what she thinks of the GU students – “They’re ALL my children!” Everyone wanted pics with Jeff’s mom and dad, and they patiently and graciously accommodated one and all.
Both my sons show up, one with his girlfriend (whose LAX playing younger brother just graduated from GU) and we are all on a total high!
Meanwhile, I finally met HoyaChris, who lives in St. Louis, works in Dallas, and travels wherever he needs to for key Hoya games. – BTW Chris, I have Jeff slotted in at a solid #6 on my list of greatest Hoyas! Can’t wait to see your updated Top-50 list after the season. Your contributions to maintaining GU Hoops history are highly valued!
HoyaDestroya is on the phone hoping we can find an extra ticket so he can drive over to join us, alas, we couldn’t come up with one. My buddies HoyaInSpirit and AvantGuardHoya couldn’t join us either, but gave us the responsibility of cheering for them too! LTMhoya was DYING to be there, but was stuck in MD. It just makes us all realize how fortunate we are to be there.
This must be what it is like to tailgate before some big college football rivalry game… the feeling was electric, the anticipation immense. But it was time to move inside and find our seats. No question this was a HUGE game because once inside the arena, the energy and excitement were enormous.
My son and I enter our gate and walk down the steps toward our seats – past row after row – Oh my gosh! We are almost on the court, right behind the GU Cheerleaders, and two seats from the tunnel where the Hoya players will enter!! And we are in ROW “G” – a GREAT Omen!
Looking around the arena, there is a LOT of gray, including a couple of solid gray sections… upstairs! WHAT!?!? They put the student section on the second level? That just ain’t right. Despite that, they made a TON of noise all day.
Patrick Sr. is in his seat nearby. Jerome Williams is wandering around. Ralph Dalton and even Joey Touomou and more are all there. Pops is on the opposite sideline doing “color” for the radio broadcast. Even Pete Carril is there for JT3! AND WE ARE ABOUT TO PLAY #1 seed UNC to go to the FINAL FOUR!!!
So what happens when the game starts? You all saw it. The refs decide they want UNC to win. I am not one to blame the officials every time things go against us…. It’s part of the game. But THIS was ridiculous. Roy picked up a foul in the first minute of the half (and again in the first minute of the second half). Touch fouls were called against us, while UNC was getting away with mugging. JT3 gets a Technical for “Bench Decorum”? What is that? Something like “wardrobe malfunction”? An NCAA Regional Final for a Final Four berth and you call a totally BS technical on JT3? Who only had one technical the entire season? It was sooooo outrageous.
I have been to a LOT of sporting events in my life, and I NEVER heard the refs booed like they were in this game. It just rained down on them and WOULD NOT STOP. And they deserved it!
Let me add this. One BE coach who was there (and who shall remain nameless) was astonished when he saw this crew walk out on the floor at the start of the game. He knew their reputation. Both he and a BE AD who was also there could not get over how one sided and awful the refs were. That was the real killer of the game. UNC was a #1 seed. They are a TOUGH team. And regardless of what anyone says, Hansbrough can play. But when our guys walked off the court at halftime, trailing 50-44, the scariest thought wasn’t that we might get outplayed, it was that no matter HOW well we played, we couldn’t be UNC and the refs too!
During the half we notice more people around. Monica Thompson (aka Mrs. JT3) is there with kids and she looks great – thank goodness! Turns out the grandfather sitting next to me is close friends with Monica and JT3 because his daughter was Monica’s close friend and classmate at Princeton, that’s how he got his tickets. On my other side is a jovial white-haired fellow from Boston. He got tix for himself and his two boys from Patrick Ewing who called to see if he could make it. Seems my buddy Steve was Patrick Sr’s 7th grade teacher and asst. coach in HS, and intimately involved with his recruiting – so he became, and remains, very close to Patrick and to Pops! Tons of great stories ensue, but no time to go into them here.
Hoyas come out of the tunnel for the second half -- Crowd goes wild!!! The guys run right by us! Followed by JT3! More cheers! Lastly, here come the refs! Guess what. The crowd sees them and the Boos become venomous and deafening! And they don’t stop! I must say…it was deserved.
But the Hoyas have plenty of fight left. No need for a complete game recap, but just think about a couple of stats I noticed in the paper. In the first 30 minutes of game time, UNC scored 71 points. In the last 15 minutes (including OT) they scored….. 13! Many stories mention how UNC’s offense went into a drought. Drought? Heck, the Hoyas clamped down on them on D and cut off the offensive boards. We were down 75-65 with 7 minutes to go. From that point until 8 seconds were left in the OT, we went on a 30-6 run (hmmmm… same as our record this year so far!). It was reminiscent of the second half rout of Kentucky back in the ’84 semifinals! Not only was it our D, but the freshmen and sophomores of UNC flat out choked. They couldn’t handle the pressure. They couldn’t believe they were giving up a 10 pt. lead and going to OT.
Let’s jump in here and add one more key element – the GU Crowd! There were UNC fans there, but they weren’t as effective or vocal as the GU fans. We supported our guys throughout. We had extra motivation because we were battling the refs too. So when things started going GU’s way, man the crowd just jumped in and upped the ante! Once we hit a couple shots in the OT, UNC was toast. Cheers THUNDERED for every move the Hoyas made. And the team brought home a HUGE victory over a very good team, one with an excellent coach. But I would not trade our coach for anyone… I mean anyone…. In the country.
Game ends, team gets the championship T’s and hats, they all parade over to Pops. Ewing the elder is escorted onto the court and surrounded by cameras and microphones to get his take. Finally, I saw Pat. Jr make his way through the throngs and tap Pat. Sr. on the shoulder. Dad turns around, sees who it is, and gives Pat Jr. the most loving smile and full body hug you can imagine. Between the Green family, JT-Pops and JT3, Mrs. JT3, Doc Rivers and Jeremiah, the Ewing clan and all the rest… this Hoya thing is an AMAZING family affair.
It makes me think that flying in from Honolulu to be at this game with my two Hoya crazy sons and old GU pal Joe is not such a wacky idea after all. So at the very end, I decided to share the story of my last minute trip from Hawaii just for this game with new friends Steve (Pat’s 7th grade teacher) and Grandad (Friend of the JT3’s)…. So they can use it as an example to let the Ewings and Thompsons know just how much ALL of us love our Hoyas!
Finally, we make our way out. Who do we see in the Arena concourse? Those wild and crazy DC boys – Cam, DoubleHoya, FOTP, FOTG and all the rest – all wearing GU Aloha shirts AND sporting Leis! I immediately interpret this Hawaiian style statement as an act of solidarity with me and my sojurn! Thanks boys!
Back in the parking lot, more partying going on, GIGAFAN has MEGAFAN on the cell phone from TOKYO! Jeff’s DAD comes out to celebrate with us. Mr. & Mrs. JahidiHoya tell us we’ve only lost once since the birth of their son and we all credit the young man with our incredible winning streak!
Joe – you NEED to get a screen name and get on board.
And Kevin – the High-powered DC lawyer – now we all know about your stealth Hoya talk board reading, even during boring legal conference calls!
And I know I am not any wackier than any of you in my dedication to our awesome Hoya tradition.
GO HOYAS
PS to AGH… I hope that gave you the “flavor” you requested!
OK, couple days ago I bragged on this board that I was flying in from Hawaii to see the UNC game because my son somehow got hold of two seats 6 rows behind the baseline (on the GU side!) and told me one had my name on it! So I guess I had better finish the story and relate my tale of being at that classic game – one of Georgetown’s ALL TIME great games – for those of you who could not be there. I wish every one of you could have been.
This trip may have seemed like one of the wackiest things I have ever done – a 10,000 mile round trip flight just to watch a single game that was on TV anyway. But the 30-6 Hoya run starting with 7 minutes to go when we were down 75-65 turned the whole thing into a once-in-a-lifetime escapade that my sons and I will remember for the rest of our lives!
It started Thursday night. My son Chris called from NY to tell me he had secured these two spectacular tix for Sunday. He wanted me to come. One thing I knew for sure, I couldn’t commit and book a flight until after the Vandy game due to the titanic jinx potential of premature e-jock-elation! We had to win the damn game first. Thanks to God’s gift to Georgetown, one Mr. Jeff Green, we won that game and you all know the story.
Last second airline tickets were over $2000! But for once in my life, an AA Frequent Flyer ticket was actually available at a time I wanted! So I traded in 70,000 miles for a trip to NYC. I took a Saturday flight that arrived in NYC at 7:00 AM. Had a brief nap and my old college buddy Joe drove us to the Meadowlands… site of many GU-SHU games we had attended over the years.
Beautiful sunny day, we pull into the designated Hoya Talk board parking lot for the pre-game party. New Jersey never looked so good! I cannot adequately describe the scene. HUNDREDS of Hoya fans, all tailgating, drinking, singing, cheering – totally PYSCH’D for an awesome event. We ran into VictorSkyPage – totally pumped!! Pretty soon the entire Café 31 contingent is there: Gigafan, DTrain, FHillsHoyaNY, Johnnytwotimes. A glass or two of cheer was had and many a toast shared. Where was Krukster?!?!
For those of you unfamiliar with the Meadowlands, Continental Arena and Jets Stadium (and a horse racing track) are all there and share a giant parking lot. I’ve had JET tickets for 20 years, the location is totally familiar, but I never enjoyed a pre-game ritual more than this!
Painted faces, wild costumes (full bunny gear?!?!) and the best sign I saw in the parking lot -- I don’t know if it made it onto TV, but it read: “Our Roy is bigger than Your Roy”!! Whoever wrote that one… Great job!
In the midst of all this celebration and anticipation who should walk into the crowd but Mr. and Mrs. JahidiHoya accompanied by JEFF GREEN’S MOM! The crowd of several HUNDRED Hoya faithful - -mostly in Gray III T-Shirts – starts chanting: JEFF GREEN’S MOM, JEFF GREEN’S MOM! Followed immediately, of course by that classic fan favorite ONE MORE YEAR!
Jeff’s mom is an absolute doll. It seemed like every student – and many alums – wanted a photo with Jeff’s mom. There was even a UNC student who stepped in for his photo op with Mom! Jeff’s dad showed up too and other family members. I can’t adequately convey to you what a remarkable family this is. Jeff’s mom told us what she thinks of the GU students – “They’re ALL my children!” Everyone wanted pics with Jeff’s mom and dad, and they patiently and graciously accommodated one and all.
Both my sons show up, one with his girlfriend (whose LAX playing younger brother just graduated from GU) and we are all on a total high!
Meanwhile, I finally met HoyaChris, who lives in St. Louis, works in Dallas, and travels wherever he needs to for key Hoya games. – BTW Chris, I have Jeff slotted in at a solid #6 on my list of greatest Hoyas! Can’t wait to see your updated Top-50 list after the season. Your contributions to maintaining GU Hoops history are highly valued!
HoyaDestroya is on the phone hoping we can find an extra ticket so he can drive over to join us, alas, we couldn’t come up with one. My buddies HoyaInSpirit and AvantGuardHoya couldn’t join us either, but gave us the responsibility of cheering for them too! LTMhoya was DYING to be there, but was stuck in MD. It just makes us all realize how fortunate we are to be there.
This must be what it is like to tailgate before some big college football rivalry game… the feeling was electric, the anticipation immense. But it was time to move inside and find our seats. No question this was a HUGE game because once inside the arena, the energy and excitement were enormous.
My son and I enter our gate and walk down the steps toward our seats – past row after row – Oh my gosh! We are almost on the court, right behind the GU Cheerleaders, and two seats from the tunnel where the Hoya players will enter!! And we are in ROW “G” – a GREAT Omen!
Looking around the arena, there is a LOT of gray, including a couple of solid gray sections… upstairs! WHAT!?!? They put the student section on the second level? That just ain’t right. Despite that, they made a TON of noise all day.
Patrick Sr. is in his seat nearby. Jerome Williams is wandering around. Ralph Dalton and even Joey Touomou and more are all there. Pops is on the opposite sideline doing “color” for the radio broadcast. Even Pete Carril is there for JT3! AND WE ARE ABOUT TO PLAY #1 seed UNC to go to the FINAL FOUR!!!
So what happens when the game starts? You all saw it. The refs decide they want UNC to win. I am not one to blame the officials every time things go against us…. It’s part of the game. But THIS was ridiculous. Roy picked up a foul in the first minute of the half (and again in the first minute of the second half). Touch fouls were called against us, while UNC was getting away with mugging. JT3 gets a Technical for “Bench Decorum”? What is that? Something like “wardrobe malfunction”? An NCAA Regional Final for a Final Four berth and you call a totally BS technical on JT3? Who only had one technical the entire season? It was sooooo outrageous.
I have been to a LOT of sporting events in my life, and I NEVER heard the refs booed like they were in this game. It just rained down on them and WOULD NOT STOP. And they deserved it!
Let me add this. One BE coach who was there (and who shall remain nameless) was astonished when he saw this crew walk out on the floor at the start of the game. He knew their reputation. Both he and a BE AD who was also there could not get over how one sided and awful the refs were. That was the real killer of the game. UNC was a #1 seed. They are a TOUGH team. And regardless of what anyone says, Hansbrough can play. But when our guys walked off the court at halftime, trailing 50-44, the scariest thought wasn’t that we might get outplayed, it was that no matter HOW well we played, we couldn’t be UNC and the refs too!
During the half we notice more people around. Monica Thompson (aka Mrs. JT3) is there with kids and she looks great – thank goodness! Turns out the grandfather sitting next to me is close friends with Monica and JT3 because his daughter was Monica’s close friend and classmate at Princeton, that’s how he got his tickets. On my other side is a jovial white-haired fellow from Boston. He got tix for himself and his two boys from Patrick Ewing who called to see if he could make it. Seems my buddy Steve was Patrick Sr’s 7th grade teacher and asst. coach in HS, and intimately involved with his recruiting – so he became, and remains, very close to Patrick and to Pops! Tons of great stories ensue, but no time to go into them here.
Hoyas come out of the tunnel for the second half -- Crowd goes wild!!! The guys run right by us! Followed by JT3! More cheers! Lastly, here come the refs! Guess what. The crowd sees them and the Boos become venomous and deafening! And they don’t stop! I must say…it was deserved.
But the Hoyas have plenty of fight left. No need for a complete game recap, but just think about a couple of stats I noticed in the paper. In the first 30 minutes of game time, UNC scored 71 points. In the last 15 minutes (including OT) they scored….. 13! Many stories mention how UNC’s offense went into a drought. Drought? Heck, the Hoyas clamped down on them on D and cut off the offensive boards. We were down 75-65 with 7 minutes to go. From that point until 8 seconds were left in the OT, we went on a 30-6 run (hmmmm… same as our record this year so far!). It was reminiscent of the second half rout of Kentucky back in the ’84 semifinals! Not only was it our D, but the freshmen and sophomores of UNC flat out choked. They couldn’t handle the pressure. They couldn’t believe they were giving up a 10 pt. lead and going to OT.
Let’s jump in here and add one more key element – the GU Crowd! There were UNC fans there, but they weren’t as effective or vocal as the GU fans. We supported our guys throughout. We had extra motivation because we were battling the refs too. So when things started going GU’s way, man the crowd just jumped in and upped the ante! Once we hit a couple shots in the OT, UNC was toast. Cheers THUNDERED for every move the Hoyas made. And the team brought home a HUGE victory over a very good team, one with an excellent coach. But I would not trade our coach for anyone… I mean anyone…. In the country.
Game ends, team gets the championship T’s and hats, they all parade over to Pops. Ewing the elder is escorted onto the court and surrounded by cameras and microphones to get his take. Finally, I saw Pat. Jr make his way through the throngs and tap Pat. Sr. on the shoulder. Dad turns around, sees who it is, and gives Pat Jr. the most loving smile and full body hug you can imagine. Between the Green family, JT-Pops and JT3, Mrs. JT3, Doc Rivers and Jeremiah, the Ewing clan and all the rest… this Hoya thing is an AMAZING family affair.
It makes me think that flying in from Honolulu to be at this game with my two Hoya crazy sons and old GU pal Joe is not such a wacky idea after all. So at the very end, I decided to share the story of my last minute trip from Hawaii just for this game with new friends Steve (Pat’s 7th grade teacher) and Grandad (Friend of the JT3’s)…. So they can use it as an example to let the Ewings and Thompsons know just how much ALL of us love our Hoyas!
Finally, we make our way out. Who do we see in the Arena concourse? Those wild and crazy DC boys – Cam, DoubleHoya, FOTP, FOTG and all the rest – all wearing GU Aloha shirts AND sporting Leis! I immediately interpret this Hawaiian style statement as an act of solidarity with me and my sojurn! Thanks boys!
Back in the parking lot, more partying going on, GIGAFAN has MEGAFAN on the cell phone from TOKYO! Jeff’s DAD comes out to celebrate with us. Mr. & Mrs. JahidiHoya tell us we’ve only lost once since the birth of their son and we all credit the young man with our incredible winning streak!
Joe – you NEED to get a screen name and get on board.
And Kevin – the High-powered DC lawyer – now we all know about your stealth Hoya talk board reading, even during boring legal conference calls!
And I know I am not any wackier than any of you in my dedication to our awesome Hoya tradition.
GO HOYAS
PS to AGH… I hope that gave you the “flavor” you requested!
