B-E-L-M-O-N-T !!!!

Oz and I are proud and disappointed ... "so close, yet so far" - Goliath escaped this one. We are drained from the emotional roller-coaster of an intense battle that epitomized why we all love this time of year. We had (and are having a blast) ... we were peppered with questions and comments at half time: "where IS Belmont?", "Nice first half." And on the concourse after the game even a Duke fan told Oz "you deserved to win." As people noticed our Belmont shirts, it was pats on our backs, nods of heads in respect, and a continuous "you played great," "we're proud of Belmont," and on and on. Oz was/is all smiles and walking a bit taller.

The [current] three most memorable moments from last night:

1. Sharing jubilant high fives with Oz in the throes of a near-Cinderella experience.

2. Sitting among a contingent of Belmont fans who were adopted by the Arizona and WVU crowds who enthusiastically joined the chants of "Let's Go Belmont!" [and not only because they did not want to play Duke on Saturday].

3. Witnessing Belmont's coach, Rick Byrd, receive a standing ovation from the entire arena as he walked from the tunnel to the Belmont section an hour after the Belmont game ended.

It was a MasterCard father-son evening --- priceless.