1,000th post = a little pontification
1,000 posts – a time to reflect.
Today is the first day of “official” practice for NCAA D1 Men’s hoops – and the Zags will take the floor at K2.
I’ve known every GU hoops score (and have known GU’s record) since Fall ’73, when I arrived on campus as a Freshman. Sometimes it wasn’t easy (living in Chicago – needing to get the Chicago Tribune or Sun Times 5 Star Final to see the west coast scores in mouse type – or befriending the United States Marines guard detail at our Embassy in Beijing in the 3 years (late 70’s/early 80’s) when I split my time between China and the U.S. Never in my wildest dreams did I envision Gonzaga Basketball evolving into what it is today (and what it will be tomorrow).
In his only post on a Gonzaga message board (entitled “The Fellas” after the heartbreaking 96-95 double overtime loss to #1 seed Arizona in the ’03 dance) Dan Dickau closed with the words: “Gonzaga is a special place, with special people”. Ronny Turiaf chose to use those exact same words as he exited Gonzaga after 4 wonderful, memorable years.
This past Monday at the Seattle kick-off luncheon, Ray Giacoletti was asked why the assistants have stayed at Gonzaga – Tommy, Leon, himself. He said that Gonzaga truly is a family – and then said that every school “talks” family and pays lip service to “family” – but the reality is, from his perspective in (25+ years with 9 different programs) only Duke and Gonzaga are true “families” – he said UNC comes close. And it’s true – Gonzaga is family. Anyone who saw the spaghetti dinners at the Few’s house (with the high doorways) on ESPN’s “The Season” could feel it – anyone who followed Ronny Turiaf’s heart surgery and recovery could feel it. Everyone who is a part of GU Basketball knows it, and feels it.
Ray also touched on the importance of Fr. Spitzer in Gonzaga’s rise to prominence – Father had a vision about Gonzaga, and he certainly left our school in great shape. I believe Father Tony also played an integral role – particularly in the family aspect of Gonzaga. I miss him.
This past summer I had a chance to reflect after getting seriously ill and missing nearly two months of work. BTW – MDABE80 is a pretty good friend to have. So is Marcy Few, who found time to send me a couple of notes of encouragement while I was down (there’s that “family” thing again).
Following Gonzaga Basketball is fun and so is hanging out in Bob’s virtual living room and interacting with this community. I truly appreciate the interactions and the banter with friend and foe – here and in my travels to other Boards.
I’m really looking forward to this season, and I have high hopes for this group of guys. I am confident that this group of guys will continue to represent our Community – and our family -- on and off the court.
As Father Tony said thousands and thousands of times – “To be continued…..”
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Originally Posted by Zagdawg
