The View from Table 72

Table 72 was about as far away from the stage as you could get in the ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton. I had an excellent view of the stage--it just happened to be the stage where the cameraman and sound mixer were standing.

None of this mattered though.

Bryan Weir, a 2005 grad whose now working in the Athletic Department (he had the task of sheepishly explaining to me where Table 72 was located), stopped by our table. Bryan and I have known each other for three years now--we met thanks to about a dozen mornings and early evenings spent sitting on the floor in the MCI Center patiently waiting for the gates to open prior to a home game. As we stood in the back taking pictures of the All-Century Team inductees, I turned to Bryan and said:

"You know, we're never going to see something like this again in our lives."

And our Generation is still very young.

I passed by Hoop Club blogger Mike Karam's table to chat shortly after Patrick Ewing's induction into the Georgetown Athletics Hall of Fame. Reflecting on the tremendous privilege of attending the Gala, I told Mike:

"I would have paid 175 bucks to bus tables tonight, just to be in this room."

I can't possibly recount in words the number of experiences I had Saturday that will stay with me for the rest of my life. But two things in particular really captured the spirit of the 100th Anniversary for me.

The first was a comment made by Paul Tagliabue (Class of 1962) during his Letterman of Distinction address. In a rather humble moment, the former Commissioner of the National Football League suggested that he didn't want the award to be about him; rather, he felt it along with the entire Gala event were about Georgetown.

The second was written by another acquaintance who I stopped to chat with at the Gala--John Reagan (Class of 1984--a rather auspicious year), the founder and editor of HoyaSaxa.com and the Georgetown Basketball History Project. John is also a former sports editor of The Hoya, and he was asked to submit a column for the paper's special 100th Anniversary section this past Friday.

In his column (linked here), John writes the following:

Every generation needs its own stories to share. Reading about a great game 20 years ago does not carry the same weight, but then, it does not have to. Those who were a part of last season's win over Duke share an experience with all those who have followed the Hoyas over the years. Most importantly, they are your memories, and ones that can be treasured in the years to come.

I recently wrote a column for John's website on the one-year anniversary of that Duke game. One of the conclusions I came to upon reflecting on my experiences on January 21, 2006 was that the game was made that much more special because, over the course of 24 hours, I experienced a transcendent moment in Hoya Basketball with so many different friends from different class years. And John is right--years later, we're all going to treasure those memories, and they'll be part of unique experience that we shared.

But in another sense, everyone who was in the MCI Center that afternoon became part of a shared experience with those that had come before us. Whether it's beating Duke, winning a National Championship, or shutting down Pete Maravich in the NIT, Georgetown Basketball from generation to generation has always maintained a consistent tradition of excellence.

Being in the ballroom Saturday night, seeing alums from so many different generations and hearing them reminisce with each other reminded me that every generation does have its story. And yet somehow, even when I was speaking with an alum well more than twice my age, I felt we were telling the same story.

Paul Tagliabue is right. It really isn't about one person, one team, or one generation. The experience, the tradition, and most importantly the family of Georgetown Basketball tied together every person in the room Saturday, from Table 1 to Table 72.

Celebrations aside, there is a game tonight. As if to remind me of this fact, went I returned home from the Hoyas' victory over Marquette, the first image that greeted me upon turning on my television set was the West Virginia Mountaineers holding a 19-point lead over the #2-ranked UCLA Bruins.

West Virginia held on for the victory, and John Beilein's crew will bring their 7-4 conference record into the Verizon Center Monday night looking to add a victory over a second consecutive ranked opponent to their tournament resume.

After a weekend in which the 100th Anniversary of Georgetown Basketball was in focus, tonight's game prompts us to look back just a single year.

Tonight on February 12th, 2007 Georgetown will walk onto the court at the Verizon Center for a contest with West Virginia sporting an 8-2 Big East record and riding a seven-game win streak...just as they did on February 11th, 2006.

On that evening the Mountaineers spoiled the Hoyas streak, leaving town with a 69-56 victory.

Here's hoping history doesn't repeat itself.

If you're hoping that the Hoyas don't forget the past and aren't doomed to repeat it, here's how to follow Georgetown vs. West Virginia tonight:

TV: Tonight's game will be broadcast on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) beginning at 8pm. Bob Wenzel and Quint Kessenich have the call.

RADIO: I asked Rich Chvotkin at the 100th Anniversary Gala what number radio broadcast he was up to these days:

"One-Oh-One-Nine," the Doctor replied.

You can listen to Dr. Rich tomorrow on Sportstalk 980 at the link here.

GAMEWATCHES: 14 official Hoop Club Game Watch parties were listed on the Events page for the 100th Anniversary game this past Saturday. For a list of the events being held Monday, check out the West Virginia events listing here.

We look forward to seeing you tonight at Verizon AND this weekend in Philly.

HOYA SAXA!!!

John Hawkes (F'04)
Generation Burton