Mark Starr
|
Mar 27, 2008 11:11 AM
I figure that by now I am pretty typical of most tournament fans. I
never really believed I was going to win the pool, so my rooting
interest becomes idiosyncratically personal--either for or against a
team, coach, player, state, guy I once knew, girl who dumped me. In
other words, I go very scientific. And if I lack any good reason to
root for or against, I tend to go with the underdog.
Here are teams I'm for:
- Stanford: I went to grad school there and, while I never
went to a single basketball game, Stanford gave me my first taste of
big-time college sports, namely football. The young among you are
probably laughing, but once upon a time that was not an absurd
statement. My stint coincided with the Jim Plunkett era (Plunkett would
go to the Patriots as the #1 pick in the 1970 draft and later win a
Super Bowl with the Raiders). Stanford won back-to-back Rose Bowls, one
with Plunkett and another with Don Bunce at quarterback, over
#1-ranked, undefeated and, as usual, overrated Big Ten teams, Ohio
State and Michigan respectively.
- Michigan State: They were my Final Four sleeper and, if you can't win your pool, nothing impresses like picking the outsider in the Final Four.
- Villanova: More than 20 years later, my hat is still off
to Villanova for the great upset over Patrick Ewing and Georgetown for
the 1985 basketball championship. My favorite player on that team was
Ed Pinckney, a great college player and a serviceable pro who lasted a
dozen seasons in the NBA and averaged more than 12 points a game for
his career. His sister, Cheryl, used to work in the photography
department at Newsweek and was a lovely lady.
- Davidson: It isn't just that I am charmed by Stephen
Curry, though you got to love a guy who can drill it from downtown and
still stops to kiss his mom on his way onto the court after halftime.
But I actually remember the great Lefty Driesell teams of the '60s
there and, for reasons that I can't remotely recall, became a big fan
of the school's biggest star, Fred Hetzel. That won't trigger a lot of
memories, but he was a two-time All-American and the first pick overall
in the '65 NBA draft. He only lasted seven seasons in the NBA, but he
averaged 18.9 points and 9.9 rebounds a game with the pros, numbers
that would earn him an eight-figure salary today.
- Wisconsin: So many of my friends went to Wisconsin in the
'60s (and my brother-in-law went there later) that I have always had
great affection for Madison and the Badgers. Besides, almost 30 years
ago I had a memorable dinner at a restaurant called Ovens of Brittany.
My dining companion ordered a German white that he didn't really like.
I asked him if he wanted to send it back. He said, 'No, let's just
drink it fast and try a different one." RIP Sean Toolan, killed
covering Beirut in 1981.
- Memphis: I know John Calipari is a little too slick (OK, a
lot too slick), but his UMass teams were some of my favorites ever. I
owe him something for the great entertainment.
- Washington State: I was doing a story on decathlete Dan
O'Brien who lived in Moscow, Idaho, but did his training for field
events across the border on the Cougars campus. On a dank, drizzly,
chilled afternoon, O'Brien tossed discuses while I gathered them and
skittered them back (throwing them more than 20 feet was beyond my
capability). Had I not been there, O'Brien, later an Olympic gold
medallist, would have been fetching his own. I learned a lot that
afternoon about just what it takes to attain greatness.
- Louisville: Two of my favorite all-time players--Darrell Griffith and Wes Unseld. And I've got a soft spot for the Big East.
- Tennessee: Once there were immortals like Red Auerbach and
Red Holtzman, but the Jewish basketball coach is now a dying breed. I
give you Bruce Pearl.
You will note that some of these "fors" are in direct conflict. And
sometimes I don't know which team I'm rooting for until the game begins
and my gut tells me. But here are teams I'm against:
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