As happens about every two centuries, George Washington has bested King George.
George Washington University, seeded 12th in its regional and making its first NCAA tournament appearance in 32 years, has become this year’s Cinderella team, surprising everyone by advancing to the final 16. After years of being in the shadow of Georgetown, the king’s namesake and usually a national powerhouse, George Washington suddenly finds itself in the spotlight.
“I grew up in this area, and none of my friends had really heard of GW before,” said John Gilmore, 25, a first-year graduate who last week traveled to Arizona, where the Colonials beat New Mexico and Southern in the west regional. “They only knew GW as the school where the basketball team always gets blown out.”
It’s a different story now for Gilmore, who was a freshman during the infamous 1988 season, when the Colonials’ lone win blemished what would have been a perfect season: 0-28.
“I remember when they would almost have to attach a five-dollar bill to the ticket to get people to go to the games,” in order to fill the 5,000-seat Smith Center, he said. Priding himself on the fact that he was going to basketball games back when Washington sports fans thought of GW only as a stop on the Metro subway line, Gilmore says, “It’s so funny now to look back and see how the games now are packed wall-to-wall with people.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, about 200 tickets had been sold for Friday’s West regional semifinal game against Michigan in Seattle.
It was the first time the school has sold tickets for a tournament game. For the first two rounds, the school’s student union sponsored parties at which students could watch the game on television. Approximately 300 students showed up at the first party, and 500 attended the second. “We expect 1,000 people on Friday,” said RoxAnne Seth, 26, administrative assistant to the director of the student union.
How big is George Washington’s improbable advancement to the tournament’s Sweet 16?
“You don’t even know how big this is if you don’t go here,” says Jonathan Carey, a 21-year-old senior, who with his friends is trying to find an inexpensive way to get to the game.
Many of the school’s 16,000 students see this not only as an opportunity for their team to succeed but also as a chance to steal some thunder from Georgetown. After 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments, the Hoyas this year missed the field of 64 and instead are competing in the NIT.
“I was sick of the press not paying attention to us,” said Gilmore, who said he still has respect for Georgetown, although “this year they stunk.”
However, George Washington basketball coach Mike Jarvis rejects any talk of a cross-town rivalry. “What I will always stay away from is getting into what a lot of people would like for me to get into, which is George Washington versus Georgetown,” he said. “We’re just trying to enjoy today and trying to make sure that tomorrow we’re successful.”
