No (NBA) Country For Old Men: - My Life Without A Team To Call My Own - Part 1: The Georgetown Hoyas

This is the genesis of any and everything basketball related for me. This is the underlying thread on which players I root for and which teams I like. This is the ONLY team in ANY sport which I will root for without exception or reservation. They can go 33-0 or go 0-everything and I will still be a fan, year in and year out. The only thing I ever ask year in and year out is they make the Sweet 16. If they do, I’m satisfied; if they don’t, there’s always next year. I’ve stuck with them in good times (’84 Championships) and bad times (Victor Paige, anyone?). I was still a fan when Craig Esherick was named the Coach (and honestly, he never had a chance). Until it’s proven that Georgetown is funded by the KKK, I will proudly scream ‘Hoya Saxa!’ come gametime.

You know what time it is....

The first basketball game I ever went to was a Georgetown game. Back in ’82 or ’83 (honestly I can’t remember which year), a friend of the family Alan Craig Sr. (RIP) took me and a few other young boys to the Capital Center to watch the Hoyas play against Villanova. This was the first time I would see Big John patrolling the sidelines with his signature white towel on his shoulder and 7 foot tall, lanky Patrick Ewing in the paint. The Hoyas won, Villanova lost. So, as a young boy, Georgetown was the team I was supposed to root for, and Villanova was the enemy. I remember in ’84 when they went to the NCAA title game. My father, who is not a sports guy at all, came upstairs to our room. We had to be in bed by 8:00 but the game was on at 9. He pulled up a chair, cut our TV on, and we watched the game. Why he didn’t watch in the living room, I’m not sure. But I got to see ‘my team’ win the championship. I was happy for Thompson and happy for Ewing. My dad would do the same thing in ’85 when they lost to Villanova (yet another reason they are the enemy). 

This would begin to shape my view of basketball...

When I was old enough to drive, my crew and I went to a few games at the Capital Center ourselves, notably the game they played against Maryland after the Terps came off restrictions. I was so pissed leaving the game, not because they lost, but because there were more Maryland fans there than Georgetown fans!.

Good times were had here...

John Thompson is a legend in DC and in the NCAA. Not only does he have the record for the most Big East championships, his graduation rate of his players is impressive as well. His protest and walk off the court in opposition to Proposition 48 is well documented. Off the court, there’s still the infamous meeting he had with drug lord Rayful Edmond (and the beating Alonzo Mourning took for hanging with him in the first place). A number of players he coached became unquestionable stars in the NBA – Ewing, Mutombo, Mourning, Iverson. No, he didn’t have the record of, say, Dean Smith (who he went against in the championship of ’82), or as many notable players as North Carolina. But his teams and the players that came out of it (mostly) had a physical, knock down, drag out, defense brings offense mindset and style of play that was typical of Big East basketball in the 80’s and mid 90’s. It wasn’t always pretty, or high scoring, and there was the threat of a fight breaking out more often than not. And I loved every minute of it.

This is what he looks like when he's HAPPY...

That’s not to say all was rosy. While the Georgetown teams I watched were defensive minded squads, often anchored by a big center (or not so big, in the case of Othella Harrington, or Jahadi White), they weren’t pretty to look at. You weren’t going to find many spot up shooters to help spread the opponent’s defense. Clog the middle, get the center in trouble, and the Hoyas had problems. Team personnel on  the team warranted changes in style of play, for better or worse. Many people still think Allen Iverson stunted the growth of Othella Harrington when he came to Georgetown. In some ways, it’s true, as the offense no longer ran thru Harrington. That said, Othella was undersized for a center (6’9, no matter what his press release said) and a bit soft to play power forward. And when you have someone like Iverson on your team, well, what can you do? The Esherick era was particularly rough, with the team only making it to the big dance once during his tenure and not winning the NIT. Blame his coaching (which wasn’t THAT much different that Thompson’s). Blame lack of recruiting power. Blame Victor Paige, who really wanted to be Iverson but was nowhere close. Bottom line, it was not a fun time to be a Hoya fan. And yet, I stuck with them.

Still Standing...

Times are much better now. JTIII, while being in his father’s shadow, figuratively and literally (Big John often watched the home games from his private box, far enough for his son to do his thing but close enough to keep an eye on the program he built)) has been able to make a name for himself, building off the defensive mentality his father instilled in the program and bringing along the Princeton style offense that makes the team a scoring threat. It was nice to see that the sons of two of the biggest figures for the Georgetown basketball progtam, JTIII and Patrick Ewing, Jr., would end up at the same school that their fathers made famous, regardless of the pressure to live up to such a legacy.  For me, the defining moment in JTIII’s career here (so far) was the first meeting with then #1 ranked Duke at the Verizon center. At one point they Hoyas had a double digit lead, and eventually won the game. I watched at my parent’s house as fans stormed the court, and I wished I was there. As it was, I screamed and ran around the house like they just won the championship.

It's a party, and EVERYBODY is invited

I still live and die by the Hoyas. When they played North Carolina for a chance to go to the Final Four, I thought for sure my neighbors were going to call management for all the screaming and shouting I was doing once Hibbert blocked Psycho T and Summers went for the jam to seal the win. I was hoarse the next day. When they lost to Ohio in the tournament this year, I couldn’t watch anything basketball related for the next 24 hours. I think Greg Monroe leaving was a HUGE mistake, but I’ll cheer for him, while hoping the Hoyas can at least make some noise in the Big East tournament. Every year around tournament time I bring my Georgetown shirt and hang it on my office door or cubicle until they lose. My son has his first Georgetown Hoya shirt and I bought my daughter a Georgetown onesie before she was born. I will teach both my children from youth to respect and cheer for the Hoyas, lest they be disowned come basketball season.

But we won't be wearing this....

 Or these...

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This also explains what teams I root for in the NBA. If you came from Georgetown, you get my seal of approval and I will root for your team. Actually, let me check that a bit: if you were a STAR at Georgetown, you get my seal of approval and I will root for your team. If you were a player, I’ll still root for you, but your team? Maybe not. Jahidi White played for the Bullets, but I wasn’t about to buy season tickets. Othella Harrington AND Mike Sweetney ended up with the Knicks, but I still have a longstanding grudge against them (which will be explained). Roy Hibbert is trying to make a name for himself in Indiana, but the ghost of Reggie Miller won’t allow me to root for the Pacers. Jeff Green was a hero of the most recent Final Four squad, but I have never watched an Oklahoma City game (partially because they don’t really show that many Oklahoma City games during the regular season because, while they have Green, Witherspoon and Kevin Durant, they still play in OKLAHOMA CITY).

Roy, you my man and all, by I can't root for Indiana. Sorry...

Using that formula, you can probably figure out which teams I rooted for back in the day. I’ll now go thru each player and his team(s), breaking down some of my memorable highs and lows. That said, the first team doesn’t follow this baseline at all….