My theory is that the more successful a sports team, the more obnoxious the fans. Just ask Red Sox fans (or people who have to put up with them). That’s why many of you (especially Los Angeles friends) may not know that I’m a graduate of American University, even though most of you do probably know that DC United represents all that is good and holy in both soccer and life.
That - the AU part - is going to change now.
In men’s basketball, American University (the Eagles, for those wondering) is 7-3 in Patriot League play, 1.5 games in front of Lafayette and Navy.
In 2000, AU announced it would be leaving the Colonial
Athletic Association to join the Patsy Patriot
League. There were rumored reasons, official reasons, and reasons given by
bitter hacks (at 21!) like myself, but the one that seemed to loom the largest
was that the Eagles were unlikely to compete for a CAA title – and an automatic
bid to the NCAA tournament – in men’s basketball any time soon.
Why is that important? Name recognition, for one. Money, for a big other.
But American has still never made the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The move to the Patriot League has not produced anything except for a neutered men’s soccer program (don’t get me started).*
But as of this point, the team is tops in the league, with four straight conference wins and only four regular season games left. Is this the year?
I see myself getting more (even more!) annoying this spring.
* - In fairness, an AU wrestler won a national title last spring. But AU had a strong wrestling program in the CAA as well, so I don't know how much of that to attribute to the league switch. I do know that men's soccer has been dismal in the recent past.
The field hockey team has been nationally competitive for a long time, too -- though they were (if memory serves) hurt by the switch to the Patriot League, not helped.
But, you know, Go Eagles.
Posted by: Jenn Kepka | February 14, 2008 at 11:22 PM
The fact that there is a Kepka Nation and that it had previously not been linked from here makes me sad.
(And, since it was one of the few sports I never covered for the Eagle, I must plead complete ignorance on field hockey.)
Posted by: Robert | February 15, 2008 at 12:40 PM
You know, I think I covered field hockey for an entire season without ever once attending a match. Or is it called a game? Yeah, clearly it stuck with me.
Kepkanation salutes you, and I've linked you back, so as to make the entire Web more... web like. :)
Posted by: Kepka | February 16, 2008 at 02:18 PM