David Slays Goliath

Happy Monday Folks! Hope you enjoyed the weekend. If yours was anything like mine, it was filled with the ups and downs of everything that is March Madness. As I mentioned last week, Richmond was ecstatic about having two teams in the Sweet 16. Our town was renamed Hoopstown USA & even our mayor got into the spirit with an appearance on ESPN's First Take.

So I got over my bracket bitterness and was able to muster up some excitement for Friday's games when both of the Richmond teams were scheduled to play. Well, University of Richmond got crushed by Kansas. I'll spare you the gory details. It's just too painful to recap. So I regrouped and put the rest of my eggs in the proverbial basket with my alma mater Virginia Commonwealth University. And they did not disappoint. Friday night's game was a thriller and by the end my nerves were shot! The game ended with a bounce pass and score under the basket to give VCU the win by one in overtime against Florida State. Hello Elite 8!   

Sunday, I was hype and ready for the game. Tipoff against #1 Kansas was scheduled for 2:20pm. The house was clean, wings were ordered, and Facebook was up and running so I could keep up with comments from my fellow VCU alumni and other fans. VCU dominated in the first half and walked back into the locker room with a 41-27 lead. Facebook blew up:

"Richmond Spiders, we're avenging you, my neighbors!"
"I wonder what all the VCU haters are saying now."
"...wondering when the rest of the world is gonna figure out what my fellow Rams already know......THIS IS RAM NATION!!!!!"

Not so fast my Facebook friends. Kansas started the second half with a bang and showed why they're a #1 seed. They pulled the game to within four and VCU Coach Shaka Smart earned a technical foul. It seemed the wheels were starting to fall off for VCU. Then, when it seemed like the game could be lost, VCU started to pull away again. My alma mater danced away with a 71-61 victory - #11 VCU defeated #1 Kansas. Seriously?! VCU is in the Final Four??!!

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

Facebook Nation really went off:
"I couldn't make it downtown to scream on Broad St. so I just finished running & screaming up & down my OWN street... GO VCU!!!"
"VCU told them we can show you better than we can tell you!!!"
"FINAL FOUR BABY!!!!!!"
"Go V C U!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
This one was my favorite Facebook status and sums up how I feel too:
"Wow!! I love you VCU. Well I guess I will finally hang up the degrees..Signed A proud Ram"

Next up VCU faces # 8 Butler - another mid-major conference cinderella team in the Final Four. If Dick Vitale had to eat crow before, I wonder how he feels now.

Source: USA Today