Last night the Vermont men's basketball team defeated Syracuse in the NCAA tournament. Their victory brought back a lot of memories for me. I am a big fan of college basketball and my favorite team, the Princeton Tigers, often makes the tournament, but rarely gets past the first round (they had a terrible year this year, but that is another story). In 1996 Princeton defeated the defending champion UCLA Bruins in the first round. It was Pete Carril's last win as head coach. Pete Carril is a Princeton living legend. It was an amazing upset and a beautiful retirement gift from the Tigers. The Catamounts' head coach, Tom Brennan, is also retiring after this season. What a wonderful way to go out. No matter what happens after this point, they will have given their coach the ultimate retirement gift.
I remember vividly the night the Tigers beat UCLA. I was house-sitting in Philly for a friend who was on vacation in Portugal. When it was all over over, I was on my knees with my arms wrapped around the TV. There was a coffee table tipped over between me and the couch that I had been sitting on. I have no recollection of actually moving from the couch to the TV, but I remember every second of the final minute of that game.
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