For some of us it may have been way before our time; for others, it may be a faint memory as we crawled around the floor while our parents hooted and hollered; and others may have joined the revelers on Lancaster Avenue, rushing out of college parties or local watering holes in jubilation. But no matter where we were in the spring of 1985, most of us Philadelphians know that this was the year Villanova won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, put our city’s storied college basketball passion back on the map, and added one more sports championship to what some consider a short list. Nearly a quarter century later, the Wildcats have a chance to do it again.
As March Madness carries into April, this team of young hoopster phenoms will join the ranks of other Philadelphia sports teams that like to test our emotional limits. We’re a city that bleeds the color of whichever team we’re rooting for that season--whether it’s green, red, orange, or in this case, blue. We tint the lights on our skyscrapers; we dedicate a week’s, or month’s worth of Daily News covers; and we wait anxiously for another championship that, for at least one more season, will quiet the nay-sayers.
Sure, we all experienced a bit of ecstasy in October as our Boys of Summer triumphantly marched down Broad Street. But did that truly (to put in Philly terms) quench our thirst for victory or our hunger for conquest? Why settle for just one championship this year? Why not set our sights too high? At heart, we’re a city of winners, the longtime dark horse of the East Coast. So bring it home, 'Nova. Do it for a city of fans who continue to believe that we’re more than a one-hit wonder.
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