Saturday, March 29, 2008

Elite Eight

By Preston Davis



It never felt in doubt, and my hands still haven’t left my head from all of the amazement. The entire second half my fingers either covered my mouth or grabbed my red hair from the pure madness of the whole scene.

Eight teams remain in America: eight schools, eight fan clubs, eight communities. Davidson is an Elite Eight team. Read it again: Davidson is an ELITE EIGHT TEAM.

Simply, we were loose. We knew we belonged on America’s biggest stage. A loose ball fell to McKillop’s feet he picked it up, dribbled through his legs twice, flashed his million-dollar smile, and sent a chest pass back to the refs. We began the verbal procession: BOB Mah-Kill-Up-ClapClapClapClapClap…

Our group sat behind Chris Alpert and Brandon “Ozone” Williams, two of Davidson’s best players since Bob McKillop took the reigns. During the dismantling of Wisconsin—especially the second half when Steph outscored the Badgers all on his lonesome—all these legends could do was shake their heads and smile.

Ford Field is monstrous. It has its own zip code. Our chants that usually rattle Belk Arena felt like they could barely even be heard near the court. 60,000 people at a basketball game. Are you kidding me?  60,000 people at a Davidson basketball game. Are you kidding me x2?

Even with all those numbers the place felt cavernous. That was until eight minutes left in the game when we started our anthem. Andrew Lovedale stepped to the foul line for an “and one.” We led by 15 at the time. We screamed “Sweet Caroline” at the top of our lungs. Andrew missed his free throw, but it didn’t faze us, or even the team. We were up by 15 then, and I don’t think anything could have brought us down.

Probably the biggest moment in the game: Steph slowly jogs down the left side of the court. He perfected his change of pace, blitzes by Michael Flowers—touted by some as the best defender in the nation—receives a bounce pass from Jason Richards (1 of his 13 assists), gets hit as he goes to the basket, spins in the air, flouts behind the backboard, throws up the ball with english, whistle blows, basket counts, and LeBron James—sitting behind the Davidson bench—goes ‘wow.’ LeBron James likes Steph. LeBron James is a Davidson College supporter. I go ‘wow.’

Dell and Sonya Curry leave the arena while many of the Davidson fans watch the Kansas/Villanova game. Everyone stands to applaud which simply says, “thank you for your son.”

During the Kansas pummeling of Villanova a Detroit high school teacher sitting in front of me keeps turning around to give me tips on what to write about, “You should talk about them being a Cinderella story.” I thank him for his astute observation. As he explains to me that Detroit is the city without consequences, he says, “We don’t even have this many people for a Lions’ game.”

A new cat has taken over Detroit.

Leaving the arena in the Detroit night, we, the fans, become the focus of all Detroit. We are celebrated by everyone we pass by for no more than wearing Davidson paraphernalia. The once ghost town Detroit lives, and lives to support Davidson. A Wisconsin fan asks “Hey, can you take pictures with me and pretend to kick the s**t out of me?” Another Wisconsin fan offers me $60 for my Davidson Soccer raincoat.

Yet, in all this hoopla, our group of 4 answered this question on Friday 21 times: “Where is Davidson?”

Instead of being annoyed with it, now, as ever, it’s a point of pride.

Come Sunday night, if you don’t know where Davidson is, just ask us. We’ll hopefully tell you: “On its way to San Antonio.”

Day of rest today, but there will be tons of press on Davidson. Davidson has never made it to a final four, but has gone to the elite eight twice before. I’ll tell you tomorrow how all of Davidson Nation is responding to the melee.

59 comments:

  1. I read this article and it appears to be very interesting seriously. It’s a kind of new post I’ve ever met. Also read this article M Sand for Plastering In Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  2. This has broadened my knowledge in this section. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow!! This is truly an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article!!
    How to get a girlfriend over text

    ReplyDelete
  4. A very awesome blog post. We are really grateful for your blog post. You will find a lot of approaches after visiting your post. Hi! We are water treatment company in uae Great points made up above! And
    sewage treatment plant in Dubai UAE thanks…
    I think this is one of the most important information for me. And i am glad reading your article. But should remark on few general things…

    ReplyDelete
  5. Grams staining is a standard method used to differentiate Gram-positive ... Gram-Staining Technique for Living Bacterial Differentiation.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for sharing.I found a lot of interesting information here. A really good post, very thankful and hopeful that you will write many more posts like this one.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow.. Very informative article thanks for sharing please keep it up.. visa for Pakistan, you can easily apply for Pakistan visa and Pakistan visit visa.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, that's what I was looking for, what stuff! Present here on this website, thanks to the admin of this website.. Turkish Visit Visa is an electronic travel authorization which is a 100% online Turkish e visa process, which takes hardly 3-5 minutes to fill out an online application.

    ReplyDelete
  9. In this guide How do I install computeroids Driver Updater , we ll show you the steps to properly update a device driver on Windows 10, whether you're trying to update a graphics card, old printer, network card, or any other hardware on your computer.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Incredible website your website layout & themes so good it's amazing, and your blog post for many useful for me. Keep up the.. great work. Indian Tourist eVisa in 2022, you can apply for an Indian e Visa online via evisa Indian website.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It is necessary to open signs for business, shops, cafes or business sign , It's Sweet and very creative for home decoration
    Our love signs bring a wow factor to any and all celebrations of your relationship: your engagement party, better together neon sign, wedding, reception, anniversary, Valentine's Day, date, birthday party

    ReplyDelete

  12. This is new knowledge for me, I am excited about it. thanks....e visa India online, e visa India processing time 3 to 5 business days you can receive your visa, in urgent cases you can get 1 to 3 working days your visa.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have been searching out for posts like this for the past week and barely found anything similar to yours. Thank you very much for sharing this and I look forward to your future posts. I want to grab your attention to inform you that the Myanmar eVisa is open now & If you want to know the Myanmar eVisa Fee here is a wonderful site where you get information about fees from your country.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I saved your website page to my bookmarks and will be back to check it out in the future. 온라인카지노

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fabulous, what a weblog it is! This blog provides valuable information to us, keep it up. 카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete
  16. Having read this I believed it was really enlightening. I appreciate you spending some time and energy to put this content together.
    스포츠토토

    ReplyDelete
  17. I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your website.
    우리카지노탑

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am always looking forward on your work and I think that you're always doing an excellent job!! 토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  19. betflix Service system that meets international standards It is the most stable and standard website.

    ReplyDelete

  20. Hii friends, If you are interested to visit Pakistan then nowadays the Pakistan e visa process is online. The process is very simple if you have the right documents. First of all, check that you are a citizen of the eligible country and then apply for Pakistan visit visa. You can visit our Pak visa website and get all the information here.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Awesome post.Thanks for sharing.This is so nice. 바카라사이트

    ReplyDelete
  22. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your blogs really nice

    카지노사이트존

    ReplyDelete
  23. Such an amazing and helpful post. I really really love it.


    스포츠토토링크는

    ReplyDelete
  24. I really happy found knew this website it very informative.
    바카라사이트

    ReplyDelete
  25. I was extremely pleased to find this site. I wanted to thank you for your time for this.
    바카라사이트

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wonderful post with amazing article. I was so impressed to yours.
    슬롯머신

    ReplyDelete
  27. Admiring the commitment you put into your blog and in depth information you present. sportstoto It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information.

    토토
    파워볼
    토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  28. After reading the blog post about your site, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your blogging. 0
    파칭코
    경마사이트
    토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks very nice!
    Do you like vape? Does anyone in your family like to smoke vape
    There are Smoant POD system that disposable vape device like, GeekVape Starter kit,Vapesring 8500puffs
    You are welcome!
    vapeciga.uk

    ReplyDelete
  30. Excellent Blog! I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this post.카지노사이트핫
    바둑이사이트넷
    토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  31. Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts.카지노사이트핫
    바둑이사이트넷
    토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  32. Really impressed! Everything is very open and very clear clarification of issues.
    안전카지노사이트
    카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thanks for sharing this best thought which help me to learn about new ideas. Also get avail your Assignment Help service done with The Student Helpline experts where you will get best content based assignment with reasonable price which makes your assignment more unique.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Many thanks for sharing this informative and interesting post with us. M sand distributors in bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  35. Thank you for sharing your idea. It’s great:D

    Nice post. I was checking constantly this weblog and I’m inspired! Aggregates suppliers in bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  37. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Thanks for share this information its really informative for all.
    wyld nightclub guest list

    ReplyDelete
  39. Of course, what a fantastic blog and instructive posts, I definitely will bookmark your blog.All the Best!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I went over this internet site and I conceive you have a lot of superb information, bookmarked (:.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Admiring the commitment you put into your blog and in depth information you present.Watch Couples Retreat on Netflix

    ReplyDelete
  42. Wow! This blog post is truly captivating! Your distinctive writing style pleasantly surprised me. Excellent job! Keep up the fantastic work. Feel free checking out this information. Unlock new horizons with Turkish Citizenship! Experience rich history, stunning landscapes, and a welcoming culture. Enjoy visa-free travel to 110+ countries and a promising future for you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  43. "Your content shines with brilliance and dedication! Every article is a testament to your unwavering commitment, combining enlightenment and captivation. Your distinctive approach to exploring a wide array of subjects adds a breath of fresh air. You've undoubtedly become my go-to for unwavering insights and trustworthy information. Keep fueling curiosity and fostering a love for learning – your exceptional work is truly cherished. Your zeal for disseminating knowledge is deeply admired. Anticipating eagerly for what's to come from you in the future!"Prevención Violencia Doméstica Acto Nueva Jersey

    ReplyDelete
  44. Great Blog! Thrilled to share my positive experience with nursing assignment services. The expert guidance received has not only boosted my grades but has also deepened my understanding of nursing concepts. Kudos to the professionals making a difference in nursing education

    ReplyDelete

  45. The insightful exploration of diverse perspectives in this post is truly refreshing. Your ability to distill complex ideas into accessible insights is commendable. The seamless flow and engaging tone make it a compelling read. It's a testament to your expertise in navigating nuanced topics, leaving readers with a rich tapestry of thoughts to ponder. Kudos on a thought-provoking piece

    ReplyDelete
  46. Your blog is an ever-flowing source of joy, expertly weaving together valuable insights with a clear and articulate writing style. I'm continually impressed by the depth of your analysis and your ability to simplify intricate ideas with ease.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Thanks for sharing with us this important Content.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot

    ReplyDelete
  49. I am so blessed to discover this. thank you

    ReplyDelete
  50. You’re a very skilled blogger. thank you

    ReplyDelete
  51. Your website deserves all of the positive feedback it’s been getting.

    ReplyDelete

  52. "Elite Eight" is an exciting and competitive phase in sports tournaments, particularly in college basketball. This phase showcases the top eight teams, each vying for a spot in the coveted Final Four. The Elite Eight games are known for their intensity and drama, often featuring thrilling matchups and buzzer-beater moments. Sports fans eagerly anticipate the Elite Eight, as it sets the stage for the climax of the tournament and determines which teams will advance to the next round.
    contract dispute settlement agreement

    ReplyDelete

Blog on Davidson Athletics

Welcome to the official blog of the Davidson Wildcats! Take an inside look at the world of college athletics from Davidson players, coaches and staff.

Search This Blog