Which game was better?

[harwoodhoya]

Both wins felt good but which Duke win felt better; the one when they were # 1 and undefeated or this one where we were up by as much as 24.

[Coast2CoastHoya]

2006.

That took only 15 seconds of thought to decide. They were #1, undefeated, presumptively Final Four, had a sick winning record against unranked non-con opps, GU hadn't done anything in years, IIRC Duke was the subject of an SI multi-cover spread titled "Can anyone stop Duke?" with sub-line "Here come the [team]" feature different teams around the country, it was the most partisan Hoyas crowd I, at least, had ever seen at the Booth (i.e., first time I'd seen a major opp with fewer fans there than Hoyas fans ... which stunk while that was the dominant paradigm, BTW, and----let's admit it----the 2006 Dukies were the superior team; we were rightfully the underdog.

The 2006 win was a paradigm change for our program. Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing that day. Friendships and relationships started in its wake.

Yesterday was super fantastic, and as I wrote in the post-game thread, one of the most complete games I've ever seen the Hoyas play. Choosing 2006 takes nothing at all away from it. It just didn't have the same overwhelming feeling of elation or importance to a program and fan base that needed validation of itself, its players, and its new coach (and new gray shirts ;-) ).

Also, 2006 wasn't really even about Duke, per se. It was about what they were, not who they were.

That said, yesterday felt about as good as any win of the JTIII era. A better question would be where 1/30/10 stacks up against the Top 10 wins of the era.

[hoyatables]

Agree with what Coast2Coast said, with this additional comment:

2006 was a statement that Georgetown was back.
2010 is a statement that Georgetown is here to stay.

[SFHoya99]

2006. Always feels better to be the underdog and win against the odds to me.

[lichoya68]

NO BRAINER BOTH

[jerseyhoya34]

This is like a Secretariat race to me. Not even close. It took me about 5 minutes of game action to decide that I would be extremely upset by a loss yesterday. IMO, it was the weakest Duke team in several years (at least 4), and perhaps the least athletic, which is saying something.

Coming off the USF game in 2006, I don't think anyone expected to win (maybe some isolated exceptions), and given the persistence of memories of the Error, most we're about 50/50 at halftime in 2006 in terms of whether we could hold the lead. Much more drama in that game.

Yesterday's win was comedic in a way too. Think about the great Ryan Kelly debates. One word for Duke on that --- enjoy.

[RockawayHoya]

2006. C2C pretty much nails it. Not to take anything away from yesterday's superb effort, but 2006 was certainly more dramatic and memorable.

I'd like to add I thought the crowd in 2006 was more amped than yesterday's.

[lichoya68]

great point ambassador about us LOSING kelly to coach k... nice get..... coach k. i THINK we wll keep the one that CHOSE us over duke.... werent that our monroe fella? i think... I BELIEVE WE GOT THE BETTER END OF THAT DEAL..IN MY OPINNOIN ..dont ya think???/ GO HOYAS/// go mr. monroe instead of kelly /// even tho coach k SAID yesterday" TWO GOOD TEAMS dont think georgetown is a great team"" WE WILL SEE YUP put that one up in the locker room gimme a break

[GUMBA]

The 2006 win was the resurrection of the program. It announced that Georgetown was back and relevant on the national college basketball stage. It was the beginning of a new era. It showed that hiring JTII was smart and that he could coach with the most elite DI coaches in the country. It was the Hoyas first win over a #1 ranked team in 21 years. It proved that the modified Princeton offense or new Georgetown offense could beat a #1 team with a motion offense. It had a Bear Bryant element to it as JTIII took a bunch of players who weren't his kids and showed he could beat you with them by playing his system and style. It was Bobos finest hour as a Hoya. The feeling outside following the game, wild cheers (hugs from strangers, high-fives from the security guards) was one that cannot be replicated simply because the program had fallen from grace. Americans love redemption and the Hoyas were redeemed.

The 2010 win is the validation of the program. It says that Georgetown is a top ten program and here to stay. It showcased a coach and team that is firmly established among the nation's elite. With the President and Vice President in the Booth, the game puts Georgetown at the center of not only the mid-Atlantic college basketball universe, but on a national stage where recruits and high school coaches will take notice. Come to the Hilltop to compete and win against the one of the most storied basketball programs in America in front of the President of the United States. So this win feels great but utterly different. The Hoyas are only coming back from a disappointing 2008-2009 season, not from the Esherickian abyss.

The win in 2006 put us back on the map. The win in 2010 redrew the map. JTIIIs Hoyas are here to stay. Now let's hope Greg stays for one more and takes us back to the promised land.

[Coast2CoastHoya]

Jan 31, 2010 12:30:41 GMT -5 RockawayHoya said:

2006. C2C pretty much nails it. Not to take anything away from yesterday's superb effort, but 2006 was certainly more dramatic and memorable.

I'd like to add I thought the crowd in 2006 was more amped than yesterday's.

thanks, Rockaway and tables. I think I speak for all of us in saying that I feel truly privileged to have been at both games and able to even have this discussion! As lic said, I'll take both!!!

As to the point about the crowd, unless you were at both games it would be hard to understand just what that means; yesterday's crowd was, in K's words, electric...truly one of the best crowds I've ever seen at a sporting event. But, if 2010 was electric, 2006 was 1.2 jigawatts of explosive, time-travel-enabling, triple sonic-booming, thunder-and-lighting electric that surged onto the court, then out into the streets around Verizon, and all over the city for days.

[lichoya68]

wowoow coast youre almost as excited as ME on here WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWWOWOOW YES BEATT USF ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[hoyaalf]

'06 was more thrilling

This year's tem seems to get better with almost every game, especially after they lose for some reason

They know now that they are capable of treating Duke to a clinic.

Now we want them to take this same focus, judgement, and maturity through the rest of the conference season starting Weds with USF.

At this rate of development, I'm feeling good but certainly not cocky, NOT in the belly of the B'EAST.

[sleepy]

Jan 31, 2010 12:29:42 GMT -5 @jerseyhoya34 said:

This is like a Secretariat race to me. Not even close. It took me about 5 minutes of game action to decide that I would be extremely upset by a loss yesterday. IMO, it was the weakest Duke team in several years (at least 4), and perhaps the least athletic, which is saying something.

Coming off the USF game in 2006, I don't think anyone expected to win (maybe some isolated exceptions), and given the persistence of memories of the Error, most we're about 50/50 at halftime in 2006 in terms of whether we could hold the lead. Much more drama in that game.

Yesterday's win was comedic in a way too. Think about the great Ryan Kelly debates. One word for Duke on that --- enjoy.

Idk that 2007 Duke team that went 22-11 that we lost to was pretty bad compared to their usual standards.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

2006 it's not even close. I was disappointed yesterday that duke was so bad. Game wasn't competitive yesterday. I also think the atmosphere was better in 06, but i'm sure part of that's idealizing that game and no longer being in the student section.

[MCIGuy]

Jan 31, 2010 11:57:53 GMT -5 harwoodhoya said:

Both wins felt good but which Duke win felt better; the one when they were # 1 and undefeated or this one where we were up by as much as 24.

Easy. The game from 2006. Not even close. The televised version was better as well because Packer was better at commenting on the game than Kellogg.

[hoyainspirit]

C2C nails it. Given the position of the 2006 game in the life cycle of Georgetown basketball and the JTIII era, it clearly stands out. I expected to beat Duke yesterday. I hoped that we'd win in '06. That said, yesterday's game, from this longtime fan's standpoint, was one of the most satisfying, entertaining 40 minutes of basketball I've had the pleasure to witness and to share with my Hoya basketball friends. And while I expected to win, I did not expect the Hoyas to pull the Dookies' pants down on national TV and embarrass them in that fashion.

[DuddingtonHoya]

I was at both games, in the same season tickets in section 121. I distinctly remember being dizzy and lightheaded much of the second half of the 2006 game because I, like everyone else in my section, was full-throated screaming the entire second half. Nobody in the lower bowl sat the entire second half of the 2006 game. Verizon was amazing and rocking yesterday, but 2006 was beyond ridiculous.

The 2006 game went a long way towards redeeming the program in the nation's eyes, but also internally among local fans and the students. The 2006 game was a before-and-after event. At the 2006 game, there were more students at Verizon than at any other point up to that game that I can remember since we began playing there. After Duke 2006, it was de rigor to see that many students at most home games. At the 2006 game, I knew people who sold their season tickets in our section because they were able to make up the cost of the entire season ticket package and, besides, were we really going to beat Duke? This year you could sell your Duke ticket for more than $1000, but unscientifically not nearly as many season ticket holders put them up for sale.

[prhoya]

Beating a #1 is always better. Duke at #1 makes it even sweeter.

[DanMcQ]

Both were special wins and bookend victories as aptly expressed above.

Having been at both, 2006 by a mile.

[hoyarooter]

I can't add anything substantive to what's been said, but even to a fan from 2,500 miles away the answer is easy - 2006. I also expected to win yesterday, as I posted numerous times. That the team played so well and that we dominated them gave this game a nice glow, but still no comparison to 2006.