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Sell out crowd awaits Dukes

George Mason Basketball: Sell out crowd awaits Dukes

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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Sell out crowd awaits Dukes

The GMU-JMU "rivalry" is one that I could never really understand while I was a student at Mason. Why are we rivals? Because we are both located in Virginia and named after dead guys? Most would consider ODU or VCU to be better suited as our official rivals because let's face it, the games are more fun to watch. But the GMU-JMU rivalry brings us back to the days when both schools were playing at the Division II level searching for identity and funding to one day be a Division I participant. This rivalry apparently means a lot to the alumni for both schools as this Saturday's afternoon delight is already sold out. Northern VA is home to many alumni for both universities so it comes to no surprise that this game never lacks good attendance. This year James Madison boasts of it's most talented lineups ever to come to the Patriot Center, but are coming into Saturday losers of 5 straight. After some early season success in their out of conference schedule the Dukes have hit a rut and their lack of experience might be catching up to them. Not to say this game doesn't have the potential to be a close one because it always does when these guys come to town and I'd be saying the same thing even if they were 0-20. Mason has the huge homecourt advantage though, which we saw them feed off late in the game against VCU on Tuesday. If we see similar fan support, this game could get ugly for James Madison.

3 Comments:

Blogger Brann...it's good for you. said...

When I arrived at Mason in the late summer of 1990, one of the first things I was taught to do was hate Madison. I still do, and always will hate the bastards. Lefty Driesell: Dumb hick, but he always beat us. Kent Culuko: Former Duke that I hated everytime he downed a 3 vs. us (plus, hate him for being connected to Jayson Williams' murder case in NJ). Madison: Full of No. Va. kids that turned their backs on Mason, because they were more interested in getting away from their parents. (Of course, they had to come back to US - No. Va./DC - for jobs, unless they want to pluck chickens or whatever crap they do out there.)

So, if you don't get it...you may never, because you weren't a student in the late 80s or early 90s. In addition, you may not remember the horrid days of Nestor, Paul Ball, etc. I saw a lot of bad basketball during the years of 1990-1995 (loved Mason too much to graduate in only 4 years). If you've only known the good years of Larranaga, you're lucky.

Madison was the dominant team in the CAA during those years, along with Richmond. Times change. But, hate doesn't.

GO MASON.

4:37 PM  
Blogger Ross Williams said...

The bad blood goes back to the early 1980s when we stole their entire economics department and in the process a Nobel prize winner. I was at Mason 1980-85 before the Patriot Center was built and there were more JMU students at the games than GMU. Its great to see how the program has grown.

BTW I think its turkeys not chickens.

7:55 PM  
Blogger l4k said...

Mason did not get any of its top economics professors from JMU. You are thinking of Virginia Tech when the Public Choice Center moved to Mason. It had moved from UVa prior to that.

JMU doesn't have PhD programs.

10:38 AM  

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