On Saturday, our nephew Brandon came down for the day to visit us and see the Georgetown-Villanova basketball game. Like Harriet and me, Brandon is a Philadelphian. He is a recent college graduate, and is trying to make a go of it in the area of video productions. Being a sports nut, he of course wore his Villanova basketball jersey to the game. The game attracted the largest crowd of the season to the Verizon Center, though it was not much of a contest — Georgetown won quite easily. It was easy for me to root for Georgetown against this particular Philly team. When when I went to Penn, Villanova was a bitter basketball rival. We had a great timeat the game, and found a nice little Chinese restaurant near the Verizon Center as a bonus.
What struck me about the game was how central the basketball program is to the culture of Georgetown University. I know this is not terribly unusual;Penn State has always been shaped around its football team, and who can think of Duke University without considering its basketball team? But I actually think a basketball home game is the best place to “run into” a colleague for a brief business meeting! And, it is certainly a wonderful way to truly understand this university — its fundamental civility, wit and genuine exuberance.
If Brandon had worn a Georgetown University uniform to a Villanova-Georgetown game in Philly, he would have left drenched in beer, at the very least. But at the Verizon Center the Georgetown student rooting section merely began to point at him, shouting “Put it on!”, referring to the free Georgetown tee shirt at each seat in the arena. Another Villanova fan actually was offered a beer (no, not on his head) by one of the students who had heckled him in a good natured way.
It was a nice moment, and it was good to think that this is one place where sports are important but genuinely placed in a proper perspective. And it is always thrilling to know that the phrase “Georgetown Basketball” defines a broader civic virtue that is embraced by the larger metropolitan area of Washington.
Let’s continue working so that one day soon the phrase “Georgetown Lombardi” will occupy a similar niche in the heart of Georgetown University and in the consciousness of this city. What we do matters — and we don’t need the offer of a beer to know that.