FGCU, Gonzaga, Cinderella and Memories

Florida Gulf Coast plays Florida in the Sweet Sixteen tonight. Savor this moment. Use it as a way to remember what this time of year is about.

When Gonzaga made its first NCAA Tournament in 1995 FGCU was no more than a parking lot. When the Zags ran to the Elite Eight in 1999 (with a Sweet Sixteen victory over Florida) no students had been at FGCU for a full two school years.



In the time since FGCU was established a lot has changed. Gonzaga has gone from Cinderella to powerhouse and FGCU has gone from nothing to Cinderella. It's unlikely that FGCU will undergo a transformation in the way Gonzaga or VCU did after startling success in the tournament, if only because most teams don't undergo that transformation. Let's just say that FGCU pulls it off. I mean, for a school that's been a full D1 member for just five years and eligible for the NCAA Tournament for only two they've already accomplished a lot, what's stopping them from continuing on that track?

So, let's say, 15 years from now that FGCU is an established program with a track record of success. Let's say it gets a one seed in the tournament, it outgrows Cinderella's slipper. What would you want to see, the Eagles plow through the tournament or get upset by a team with Cinderella aspirations of its own? As a FGCU fan you would want to see them roll. But only one team can roll all the way in March, and not many people are fans of that one team, regardless of which team it is.

FGCU's run could well come to an end tonight. If it does, everybody will be a little sad. Despite that they'll all be happy about the run they just witnessed. Right now FGCU has no expectations, no bar to live up to and no reason to be disliked. No matter how badly this ends everyone will have good memories. As they should, things could change really fast.

FGCU could do what every program wants to do, succede over the long term. When that happens there will be expectations, a bar will be placed, there will be reason to dislike them. When, not if but when, they get upset by a team trying to become the next FGCU there won't be much remembering of the journey, just the defeat.

This is unfortunate because the upset is the beauty of March. It's what allows teams like Gonzaga to from unknown to #1. It's what allows teams like FGCU to go from under construction (literally, with cranes and "do not enter" signs) to in the spotlight. The little guy still hasn't won the big dance, their great journeys always (so far) end in defeat. So, remember the journey. Go Eagles!