also, they are not called the Lady Terps

What a bittersweet night of mixed emotions.

hot: watching the women's basketball team in the national championship with a ton of other people in the Commons lobby
not: watching it there because I was kicked out of my own apartment because of a fire caused by Will Bowers and some story about hot oil and a bloody nose that left several apartments damaged by sprinklers
hot: beating Duke for the national championship 78-75 in the last few seconds of overtime (so hot!)
not: the riots that ensued, including massive fires and an attempted bus tipping (bus tipping!?!)

Now normally, I'm cool with fires on Route 1. It's all in good fun when you're burning your own mattress or your friend's clothing or something, right? And what's a torn down street sign? Big deal. No need to pepper spray me or shoot me in the back with a rubber bullet; we're just celebrating cause we love the Terps!! Right?

Tonight I realized how wrong I was. After the game was over, we were stuck outside our building because of the grease fire. So, we decided to wander down to Route 1 to see if anything would happen. I figured it would be a weak attempt with a few people yelling F Duke and standing on the sidewalk, but unchecked by the brutality of the PG County police, it turned into a massive mob. Wait a second, where did this mob come from?? None of you were fans of the women's team before! You didn't even watch their games. No one went to Comcast. Most people at this school can't even name two players on the women's team! And here you are cheering and rioting, as if you really care?? You don't love the team; you're just destructive little children! And now you're trying to tip over a bus?? This has gone too far!

But of course, this only brought into the light my own failure as a Terp. Sure I can name two players, but admittedly, I don't watch them. I've known that they're good my whole college career, but I've always said that watching the women is boring. Well tonight, it was not boring. It was the kind of playing that I have been missing all year. And the women delivered while I've been hanging onto my devotion to the men. Now I'm no fair weather Terp. I'm not saying we should ditch the men's team cause they suck and the women are good. I have been supporting the men's team through thick and thin. But what I cannot support is their attitude. The ball hog, fist-pumping, leaving for the NBA, giving up, failing off the team attitude. The women's team has worked hard and been dedicated. And they are exciting to watch.

I have been betrayed by the men's team and never gave the women's team the credit they deserved. Testudo, I apologize.

hot: the women's team
not: missing out on them for so long while claiming to be a MD basketball fan