Sociological Analysis of UCONN Students

At the George Mason victory rally this past Sunday, we were advised to "poke" UCONN students on the "Facebook" website, as a means of taunting them. At the time it seemed to be a cruel way of showing support for George Mason. So I did it.

I received messages from some of these University of Connecticut students. Those that understood why I was "poking" them, and were upset about the loss, responded with heterosexist and misogynist comments. They didn't have much else to say, and clearly UCONN has not provided them with the ability to articulate themselves in a more productive or even wittier way.

Several had no idea what was going on. One student congratulated me. I'd like to thank him again.

Here is one of those conversations:

David (also known as D-Fro): FUCK GEORGE MASON!!! THEY GOT REAL LUCKY BY BEATING US!!!!! AND FUCK YOU FOR POK'N ME!!!! AND MY GIRLFRIEND SAYS YOUR GAY. HAVE FUN LOSING THIS WEEKEND.DON'T EVER POKE ME AGAIN!

Me: HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA have fun watching the game loser

David: fuck you dude! george mason is pussy! and you it, they were invited to the tourney, INVITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: we might be pussy, but we beat you. what that make you? you were invited too dumbass. INVITED! when's the next uconn game? that's right, next fucking season!

David: we were at at large bid into the tourney, win your conference tourney be one of the top teams in the country and then talk to me. the last time your school won a national championship was in 97 and it was in fuck'n track pussy.stop talking to me...i have no time. enjoy this moment bc that school will never have ne thing to cheer for after this!

Me: how bout making the final four? that good enough idiot?

David: dude final four isn't nothing for uconn, we win national championships both men and women. no one knows about g. mason. enjoy the dream your living. stop talking to me

Me: you're right, it aint nothing this year!

David: dude hit up some girls on facebook not random guys alright? leave me alone

Me: dude, you messaged me first. i'm just poking uconn students.

• Notice the UCONN student attacking certain groups (gays, women) that have nothing to do with Sunday's game.
• UCONN did not win the Big East tournament this season. They lost against Syracuse in the first game they played in the tournament. Thus, they were invited to the Big Dance as an at large bid, just as was George Mason.
• He keeps telling me to stop talking to him and that he has no time. And yet, for some reason, he continues to message me. I don't understand that. My only guess is that he is attempting to exert his masculinity by getting the last word. Or at least what he perceives to be exerting his masculinity.
• After I respond to his questioning my sexuality for a final time, he realizes that yes indeed, he messaged me first. He has yet to respond. I don't believe he will.
• My "dude" was a mocking "dude." That's the only kind of "dude" I say.

George Mason Reps Maryland

Living in Maryland my entire life and pursuing a Master's degree at George Mason University, things are pretty great right now. All five starters for George Mason's men's basketball team are from Maryland. Let's give the state the respect it deserves.

On George Mason's Campus

We received an email saying that there would be a rally held at the Johnson Center right before my class. I thought, "Oh, let me check that out and grab a Final Four t-shirt while I'm at it, if the line isn't too long." How naive I was back then (earlier today).

There were news vans and television cameras everywhere. Usually the JC bustles with the sound of students chatting. It's not quiet, but there isn't booming music and generally you can walk freely without having to stop every two seconds because the place is jammed with people.

I couldn't check it out too long, or I'd never get out of there. The wave of people and large electronics would have boxed me in. I knew picking up a shirt was out of the question. The line wasn't only out of the bookstore door, it was out the door of the Johnson Center, both before and after my class! And that was just to get into the bookstore, not even the line to buy the t-shirt!

Then I drove to George Mason's campus in Arlington. There were no signs of the Final Four exhibited on and around the Fairfax campus.

Another email complimented the way we have handled this Final Four success, compared to students at other campuses. I took that to mean Maryland- College Park specifically. I remember when I was on Maryland's campus in 2001, the year they lost in the national semifinals. After they lost, people went crazy. It wasn't safe to leave my friend's dorm room. I've been proud of our non-crazy students. Of course, it doesn't take much to be non-crazy compared to Maryland students.

Am I The Reason?

Even my grandmother heard about George Mason making the Final Four. She suggested that perhaps the reason for their success this season is due to the fact that I am rooting for them. That's a very cute grandma-thing to say. Being that she is my grandma, I've evaluated this thought carefully, and the conclusion that I've reached is that I'm inclined to agree with her. It's all me.

By The End

By the end, I had no emotions left. I couldn't cry from joy. But it felt as if someone or something kept grabbing the corners of my mouth and forcing a constant smile. My heart had wings. I walked on marshmallow clouds. My wildest dreams had come true. And yet somehow, I knew it would happen. I could not envision us winning enough to make the Final Four, but more poignantly I could not see us losing either. I still can't. You wouldn't understand unless you experienced it. My school snuck into the dance and stole the ball. Wake up the spirits of those that cannot believe, and tell them they will not forget, George Mason has made the Final Four.

Patriot Center scoreboard

A Moment in Time

"The game is a beautiful game because you can win in so many ways." - Jim Calhoun, after his team's loss to underdog George Mason.

The Patriot Center was packed after George Mason's victory against Connecticut. We celebrated our school's triumph. In our heart of hearts we knew this would happen. We knew our players were good enough. We knew they were better than you or anyone else thought. But only when it happens can it be understood. Our school made the Final Four. It's more than that however. We are not Connecticut, or Duke, or North Carolina, or their ilk. We have a different story. We are George Mason.

Jim Larranaga, a scrappy ballplayer from the Bronx, who had coached his son at George Mason not too long ago, is now the toast of the country. This is for him. When I was first accepted into George Mason for graduate school, my brother recounted "that old army guy" that had taken GMU to the tournament, where they lost against Maryland in the first round. George Butler is his name. This is for him.

This is for all of those people that believe in the underdog, not for one night, but for a magical ride. This is for Folarin Campbell, an overlooked point guard/forward that makes Mason move. He is the soul of our team. He brings up the ball on offense and guards the opponent's forward on defense. He rebounds as if he were twice his own size.

This is for the people who predict their team will make the Final Four because they truly believe in their players' hearts, courage, will, and ability, despite what the experts say to the contrary. You don't know our team. This is for Lamar Butler, whose smile lights up your television only slightly less than his jumpshot. A senior guard who promised to take his school to the Final Four and delivered.

This is for the fans of George Mason, singing our 1980s Bon Jovi song as the band plays. I am always shocked that these kids know every word of a song from a terrible '80s band, but it is a testament to the fans' love of their team. This is for Tony Skinn, who was mighty close to being remembered by his fans as a great player with shouts of "Tony, Tony" cascading from the stands, but a goat, a villain, and a scoundrel from the rest of the basketball world thanks to a sucker punch in what may have been the team's final game.

This is for the bench, unheralded. This is for Will Thomas, who added to his dynamite play against oversized giants in the tournament. This is for Jai Lewis, the butt of fat jokes, and he loves it. Because more fats jokes means his team continues to win.

George Mason's Final Four run is not a miracle to those that knew. Miracles don't have explanations. You can't look to a team's talent to explain a miracle. Determined play throughout a season can't articulate what has just taken place in a miracle. A coach's strategy doesn't come into play with miracles. George Mason's Final Four journey isn't a miracle. But it is a gallant upset. One for the ages. This is for Billy Packer and Jim Nance, who berated GMU before and after we were chosen to participate in the NCAA tournament. It was personal. They knew not what they spoke and yet they screamed at the top of their lungs, "You are not good enough! You should not be here! We don't want you!" They can scream all they want Saturday as they watch their first George Mason game this season. This is for Seth Davis, who thought "Jai Ellis" could provide an impact against UNC and "Jamar Butler" sung well.

This is for those that don't believe that the underdog can or should win. This is a reminder that they do win. They inspire hope when all is lost. They help us escape from the pain of the world. The improbable can occur and it is not a miracle. There are reasons. These reasons cannot always be predicted, because a person's heart is not on a scouting report, a player's determination cannot be viewed in his statistics, and you cannot predict a person's desire. But they are there, the reasons. Four wins equal a trip to the Final Four and George Mason will be there.

George Mason, Final Four Bound!

Connecticut raced to an early lead. But the dream seemed far from dead. George Mason was shooting the ball horribly, but heart kept the team in the game.

Mason took their first lead, which woke up mighty Connecticut. The Huskies ended the half on a run that must have made the second half appear moot to a lot of people.

Very quickly the Patriots came back. The entire game, I was on the brink of tears. Sometimes my mind filled with the fairytale of the Final Four and at other moments I imagined the pain of coming so close, but experiencing heartbreak worse then anything I could have conceived a week and a half ago.

Mason took the lead and maintained a two possession margin heading down the stretch. With 10 minutes to go, Jim Larranaga made his final substitution of the game. The under-8-minute television timeout was missed. Jai Lewis, Will Thomas, Folarin Campbell, Tony Skinn, and Lamar Butler were already exhausted due to their frenetic defense and the struggle that was every offensive possession. They were facing the number 1 seed in their region. Connecticut, a two-time national champion, who the experts had predicted to win it for a third time this season, outsized Mason at every position. "UCONN has three players in their starting lineup that may be taller than any player in the history of George Mason basketball," I would later say. George Mason had never won an NCAA tournament game before this season.

Will Thomas was forced to throw up left-handed hooks and Mason's guards continuously shot fadeaways. They kept going in.

With four minutes to play, four consecutive timeouts, one by UCONN, one by Mason, and two television timeouts within a one minute span occurred. That gave Mason enough time to rest. With time running down, Mason looked comfortably ahead.

But missed free throws hurt Mason. Tony Skinn missed the front end of a one and one up by two and UCONN ran down the floor with 5 seconds left. Denham Brown took the ball baseline and under the hoop. Campbell missed a block by an inch. The ball bounced off of the rim once.... twice.... three times... and in. My body collapsed onto the floor. My muscles went limp. About watching the ball hit the rim three times with no time left on the clock, I said, "That shouldn't be allowed to happen to anyone."

Right away the thought was that Mason couldn't get it together to win. But we hadn't lost. We still were still in it.

George Mason would not go away. The Patriots took a four point lead after a Campbell fadeaway jumper. UCONN was not about to become victim to a miraculous upset. The lead was cut to two. Jai Lewis missed two free throws with 6 seconds to go. Denham Brown had the ball again, down by two. He entertained thoughts of driving the ball to the basket, but backed off for a three. The ball went up and was on line. My heart stopped. The ball hit the far part of the rim and bounced out. The next thirty minutes of my life are a blur.

"Unbelievable," was what went through the minds of most people. My brother told me, "I was cheering hard for George Mason the whole time, but I thought they would lose. This isn't supposed to happen." Well believe it, it happened! George Mason is in the Final Four.

The celebration of George Mason's Final Four run at the Patriot Center. The team is in the middle of the court with the regional championship trophy.

Recap of Thursday's Sweet Sixteen

Thursday night saw a couple of last second shots that made and brade several teams' season (that rhyme doesn't work in the past tense, I just realized).

West Virginia's Pittsnogle hit a three with just seconds remaining to tie Texas. But a scrappy guy named Paulino or something Italian nailed a long jumper to give Texas the win.

UCLA trailed Gonzaga virtually all game long. In the last minutes of their contest, UCLA began to come back from their double-digit deficit, despite obvious one-sided officiating. Announcer Len Elmore even called the referees out and he's usually quite level-headed. Up by one, Gonzaga took the ball out of bounds trying to salvage the win. Morrison got caught in the corner, backcourt, and threw the ball into a trap. Two UCLA players then took the ball, which led to the game-winning basket.

UCLA had scored the game's last 11 points and grabbed a win. Adam Morrison cried, even before the game was over, even though his team still had a chance to win. He had already given up on his team. Great players relish when only given a chance. Morrison's face bunched up like a two year old who had just spilt milk on the floor. Tears flowed down his ugly-ass face. It was truly heart-breaking. Or funny.

Memphis and LSU also won. LSU beating Duke... not that big a deal. It wasn't a big upset at all. The tournament has plenty of drama without sports pundits and announcers trying to provide a false sense.

George Mason and Georgetown games tonight!

Saddam's Foreign Minister Just Trying To Make A Dollar

Saddam Hussain's Foreign Minister at the time of the US invasion, Naji Sabri, provided the US with intelligence about Iraq's weapons. He was paid by the CIA. He was ignored.

This goes out to Naji in particular. I know the feeling. I've been writing the White House for years- not so much about Iraqi weapons intelligence, more about how George Bush's actions have caused the deaths of so many people- and have always been ignored (besides the standard auto-reply email).

Maybe people don't like when you call them out for what they are, if what they are is a douche. Got that? And that's what my boy Naji and myself were doing. So I guess it's really our fault for saying anything at all. My grade school teachers always taught me: "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." That might be the worst advice you could give a child. Well, it's at least as bad as: "Hey everyone throw your pennies at the cheap Jew." Jokes on you, Coinstar lets me sort those pennies for free and turn them into real cash!

On a side note, the best advice a teacher ever gave me was: "Chase the fat kid." New record- in four short paragraphs I turned a very serious mistake over weapons intelligence that helped lead our country to war into a teacher telling me to run after fat kids. Yes, I toss and turn quite a bit at night.

Bush Rant

When Helen Thomas asked George Bush about his justification for wanting war, he responded by saying, "No president wants war." Mr. Bush appeared genuine. It is hard for me to believe that Mr. Bush cares so little for human life around the world that he wanted war. So I do believe that much.

We now know that every justification given for the war in Iraq has been proven and admitted to be false. It has been obvious that the administration has shifted those justifications when they no longer are relevant.

People of my ilk have called for an honest debate about issues concerning the war in Iraq, but we must be ready to engage appropriately when the time comes. The fact that the administration was wrong in their reasons for the war, such as wmd intelligence is very different from claiming that Mr. Bush attempted to manipulate that intelligence to justify war.

The intelligence about Iraq's weapons and intent was wrong. The way the intelligence was used was wrong. The lack of a public debate before sending this nation to war in Iraq was wrong. Congress's vote to give the president the power to go to war, no matter what the intelligence said, was wrong. These are all important things that need to be addressed. Only then can we move to the extremely serious charge of the president manipulating intelligence to go to war.