OK, my favorite sport is College Basketball hands down. And my favorite team always has been the Maryland Terrapins or just TERPS. Started out going to a few games when I was 11 or 12 years old. My first memory is a player called Will Hetzel and the way he could score. I believe Lefty (Charles Driesell) came the next year and proclaimed he was going to make the University of Maryland the UCLA of the East.

I loved it, bravado right out of the gate. And why not set your goals high. I was addicted right from the start. That win in 1971 (the slow down game) that was televised and went into overtime and Maryland had upset the #2 school in the country. I watched on a small B&W set. I was so pumped after that game I couldn’t sleep. The excitement the basketball program generates is a special thing.

Cole Field House was a special place. I enjoyed many a game there and continue to go to a few games a year at the Comcast Center and religiously watch every televised game even if I have to record them. I got my son and his fiance tickets to the Indiana game this year and they loved it. So I hope the family tradition I started carries on for years with my family following Da TERPS.

This year has been a special one. After a missing the NCAA’s the last 4-5 years, we are in and in a big way with a nice mix of a key senior and junior and some exceptional freshman. I believe 4-5 players transferred after last year and I’m glad they did because the chemistry this group has is kind of special and it has come from the start. The only thing I’ve seen close to it is Kentucky and its abundance of talent blend together for the good of the team.

One thing for sure. This coming Monday will either be a day where my friends and I are very upbeat and looking forward to the coming weekend with a spring in our step and another party in the planning or one where a half hearted effort will be made to watch a few more games and the finals but it won’t be near the same excitement or interest.

I love all basketball but College is special. That time where young men develop and learn some great lessons. Most are taught tough lessons of how to handle defeat. Most are taught how to perform under pressure. Most are marking the end of a career and leaving something dear to them. It’s where you see family in the stands living and dying with every possession. And even the most stoic fathers have a lean or teeth clench or small expression that can be seen. And then there are the things that can’t be duplicated in any other time. A father coaching a son like with Georgia St. And even though their run is over, you can see and feel the happiness of that family.

So many thanks to a special team and a special year for all the fans who follow this team year after year.

Oh, and before I get negligent here, lets not forget the Maryland Women. They have a legit chance at a title themselves for a National Championship being a #1 seed this year. It’s a big day for the University of Maryland athletics.

Go TERPS