No matter what happens in the NCAA tournament, I can't emphasize enough what a pleasure it has been to follow this team over the last four years. Their stories -- from an out of nowhere Jon Jaques to a local boy done good in Jeff Foote -- are enough to make any Cornellian proud. Their talent and character, both on and off the court, will far ring the story of the glory of Cornell.
Two memories of mine stand out in particular:
The first was at a basketball game in Allston four years ago, when I convinced a couple of friends that our basketball team was worth seeing. We ended up seeing a nerve-wracking, buzzer-haunting, one point loss, but not before we could tell that Cornell has something special in Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman. (And, not coincidentally, before I got into a heckling match with a bunch of eight-year old Crimson fans. The only fans fair Harvard seemed to be able to attract that night.)
The second was attending the home game against Columbia this past January, when I somehow found myself standing next to Jeff Foote after the game. Sweat was still dripping off of his forehead and I was a bit intimidated by the fact that he seemed twice as massive as I was, but Jeff just has an awesome grin on his face.
Congratulations to the Big Red Basketball team for all of your accomplishments, past, present, and future.