Hate It Or Love It, The Underdog's On Top....

I was going to call this post "How 'bout them Patriots?", but I don't want anyone thinking I meant them boys from Foxboro.

(No disrespect, but I'm a Giants fan. Fuck that.)

Anyway, I'm referring to the Patriots of George Mason University, a #11 seed who bucked 500-1 odds and the last two national champions (UConn and fuckin' UNC, as I like to call 'em) to get to Indianapolis and the Final Four. I'm absolutely giddy over this for several reasons:

1. Billy "mid-major schools don't belong in the Big Dance" Packer looks like a real asshole right now, doesn't he? Mmmm, so schadenfraudelicious, ain't it? And major points to tourney committee chair (and UVA AD) Craig Littlepage for sticking to his guns. And let's not forget Wichita State, Bradley, and Gonzaga (yeah, they still count), all of whom made the Sweet 16.

2. Maybe I'm hoping against hope here, but please let this be an actual step towards (gasp!) parity in college hoops...it would be nice.

3. This is a tad surreal to me, because as a UVA grad, we're used to beating up on Mason early on the season and they're in the Final Four. By comparison, the Hoos lost in the first round. Of the NIT. Wow.

So, the boys from Fairfax take on 3 seed Florida (who should know how this feels, since they also upset UConn back in 1993 on their way to their first Final Four -- Donyell Marshall missed four free throws in a row in the last minute and I'm still mad) for a trip to the National Championship game. I didn't fill out a bracket this year, so I'm watching for the sheer fun of it for once. So, I'm happily and enthusiastically rooting for the underdogs, so much so that I'm actually going to type this out for all to see....

Go Patriots!