On The Brink

When I was a little kid I came to the conclusion that as a dedicated sports fan you had be loyal to the teams closet to you geographically unless you moved somewhere else after already being a fan of different teams. So as of that day I became a fan of the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Sonics, the Seattle Seahawks,  and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The latter was hard for me as my favorite college basketball player was Washington State star Isaac Fontaine, but I had made my mind up and I stuck with it. It was hard at first being rooting for the Zags; they weren’t very good for the first couple years. My dad tried to explain to me that I could like any team I wanted no matter of geography, but I wouldn’t have any of it, I was stubborn.

Finally in 1999 things started to click, the Zags made into the NCAA tournament as a number 10 seed. I was excited to turn on CBS and see them playing Minnesota, I didn’t know what to expect. As the game played out and we pulled ahead a giddiness came over me, we won an upset. Then came the realization “oh crap we play Stanford”. For the Stanford game I had tempered hopes, I hoped we didn’t get blown out, a good showing is what I wanted, but its not what I got and I was happy with it. I remember Quentin Hall locking down on defense, and Matt Santangelo keeping us in the game. My most vivid memory was thinking that Stanford forward Mark Madsen was dirty and that I just wanted to beat Stanford to wipe that stupid grin off his face. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed seeing someone lose as much as Madsen, it was awesome. I think that in all the Zags runs in the NCAA tournament that the Stanford game was the most underrated; everyone always talks about the next game against Florida, but I consider the Stanford win a better win. The game against Florida was an exciting one; it was my first introduction to Gus Johnson. (1) In every Gonzaga montage his voice rings out, as only his can “Gonzaga, the slipper still fits!” Even though we would go onto lose to eventual champion Rip Hamilton and the Connecticut Huskies, I was hooked!

When the Zags came home they were welcomed as heroes, they were everywhere, on the TV, radio and billboards. . We listened to interviews on the radio when Dave and Ken, the breakfast boys had them on their show and learned all we could about them. In a small community as Spokane is you run into everyone now and then. For my brother Steve and I, we were always on the lookout for Zags. We would see Mike Nilson walking down the street, Richie Frahm and Matt Santangelo in Safeway, all just normal down to earth guys, that most people wouldn’t take a second look at unless it was Casey or Axel, and even then it was probably because they were tall. The times have changed, you used to be able to pick up a dorm roster and find basketball players names and you could call them. We used to call Matt and Casey who lived together at the time. Surprisingly they would actual talk to us for a while before going on with their nights. One night after the 1999-2000 season we were talking to Matt about the next year and how he wouldn’t be there anymore, he told us not to worry about it cause the guy that was going to replace him was very good, and he would keep the Zags playing well. That guy was Dan Dickau. These days the basketball team isn’t as accessible as it was when the program was just getting rolling, players are well known in Spokane and the surrounding areas, playing games on national TV every year make it tougher for them to hide in plain sight in a small community.

Throughout the last 14 years there have been highs, the 98-99 team that made the elite eight, the 99-00, 00-01 and 08-09 teams that made the sweet sixteen and there have been lows, the 01-02 team that lost to Wyoming in the first round, the 05-06 team that blew a lead late to lose to UCLA in the sweet sixteen which is forever immortalized by Adam Morrison crying on the court. That loss still stings right now. I remember watching it unfold with my cousins, aunts, and uncles in grandparent’s living room in Arizona, sick to my stomach as UCLA made their run.

This year Gonzaga has made history, history that seemed unlikely when the season began. For the first time in school history we are ranked number 1 in the nation and have been for the last two weeks. The balance on this team is something we haven’t’ seen before on a Gonzaga squad. Today is selection Sunday and we stand on the brink of being a number 1 seed in the tournament for the first time, more history that would be made by this team. Is this the best team Gonzaga has ever had? Will this be the first Gonzaga team to reach the final four? That remains to be seen, but until then we all know that “for little Gonzaga University, dreams do come true!” Go Zags!

1: Gus calls then end of the Gonzaga-Florida game.