The Local Sports Optimist

MARYLAND TERPS BASKETBALL...AND A LITTLE MORE

Now when it comes to college basketball, I can be a little strange! This is especially strange to me because I am such a "one team" guy, and one team only- across the sports board. In all other sports, I don't have a "second" team. I don't "adopt" a team when my team is out of it at the end of the season. Since I didn't go to one of the local schools, I didn't have the same kind of allegiance that others who went to a local school would understandably have. In the DC/Metro (DMV) region, there is a rich, deeply rooted college basketball passion among many in the sports culture. With so many local teams (and these teams in different conferences who don't rival each other) this is the one local sport where I have personally observed (both in my affections and among others) a variety of favorite teams at different times. And especially as it relates to Georgetown and MD. For many like myself who didn't go to one of these schools, I have observed many "DC sports" fans who like MD even though Georgetown is a "DC" school. And then there are "MD" sports fans who also pull for Georgetown. Also in my observation, many of these fans would simultaneously pull for both at various times! 

While he was growing up in Tennessee- and especially in going to school at UT- my Dad was never really much of a basketball fan, at least not until his later years. His primary sports passion was UT Vols football. So while my Dad's influence on me with TN college football was pronounced at an early age, college basketball was an afterthought for many years. It wasn't until the late '80's that I really started watching- and getting excited about college basketball. And I gotta say, I was actually more of a Georgetown college basketball fan during my earliest college basketball days! We went to a couple Georgetown games at the old Capital Centre, including one during the '84-85 season when we got to see Patrick Ewing and the Hoyas vs Villanova- who would then end up beating the Hoyas in arguably one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history a couple months later in the National Championship game! Even though at the time I initially followed Georgetown more, I started liking the Terps as well since they were in a different conference, the ACC. Also because my mom went to MD and was a Terp. And then along with the Hoyas and Terps, I couldn't help but also have an interest in my favorite college football school- the Vols, out of the SEC. 

In 1993, Georgetown and Maryland would finally meet in an epic duel of regional supremacy. Local allegiance lines were being drawn. And though I was a little torn on the outcome, I would say that I wanted Georgetown to win more in that particular game, primarily because they were ranked higher and had a more legit shot at a potentially deep tournament run. But it was Maryland who prevailed, in what at the time was a pretty big upset. It marked the first statement win of the Gary Williams era and, perhaps more than anything, really helped to put Maryland back on the map in the college basketball landscape. The young freshman phenom- and future NBA #1 draft pick- Joe Smith would start to emerge that season, and would play a key role in leading the Terps back to the NCAA Tournament. As I reflect on that time period, if I can pinpoint when my passion for Terps basketball (and what would put the Terps over the Hoyas with my affections) was solidified, it was when Joe Smith and the Terps upset mighty UMASS during the '94 NCAA Tournament to make their first Sweet 16 run under Gary Williams. And though I would still follow and pull for Georgetown locally in the Big East, the Terps were solidified as my favorite team. There were so many exciting, and disappointing Terps seasons that usually ended with painful losses in the Sweet 16 round of the Big Dance. But then, after a dramatic Final Four run in '01 that ended in crushing fashion at the hands of rival Duke, the Terps went all the way in '02 to capture the school's first and long-awaited, National Championship. One of my personal greatest live sports memories is being able to go to the championship game vs. Indiana in the Georgia Dome, as a friend in TN hooked me up with a ticket that he got because he was a college basketball coach. 

So how do I decide who to pull for and when? While the Terps are my solidified #1 team, I still like for Georgetown to do well, and also root for the Vols to do well, in their respective conferences. Now what if the teams play head to head? I would then say that if the stakes were equally similar between all 3 teams, I would pull for the Terps over either in any circumstance. But, if by the small chance a win for either of the 3 vs the other meant substantially more to that winning team (like tourney hopes), then I would probably lean for that particular team. A small example of this was in the Terps '01 Final Four run, where they faced off again vs the Hoyas in the Sweet 16! Unlike the '93 regular season game where I hoped the Hoyas won more, in the '01 Tourney, I was absolutely pulling for the Terps- primarily because they had a much better chance at a Final Four run if they won that game, which of course they eventually did. Now, what if in the dream scenario all 3 happened to be in the Final Four, and 2 of them perhaps even played for the Championship? I would have to say: Terps #1, Vols #2, Hoyas #3.