Public Over Private

Although I would never consider myself a fan of the Kansas Jayhawks or the Florida State Seminoles or the Kentucky Wildcats, I'll usually root for a public school over a private one. The only exceptions are A) when the Pac-10's reputation and/or ranking is at stake and I'm forced to root for Stanford or USC; B) when I'm pulling for Syracuse or the Big East more generally on my father's behalf; or C) when I'm cheering for a representative of an underdog conference like Gonzaga or St. Joseph's or Bucknell. And that's one reason why I was so pleased to see North Carolina defeat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Another is that certain groups of players appeal to me and this very young Carolina squad is shaping up to be one of them.

But the biggest reason by far is deeply personal and even more deeply absurd. It's one of those "degrees of separation" deals. You see, my Cal Bears defeated USC today. USC defeated North Carolina earlier in the year. And that means, via the faultiest of fan logic, that Cal thereby demonstrated the capacity to beat the Blue Devils. Not that it would ever happen -- I can replay that NCAA tournament victory from 1993 to my heart's content if I want to relive the joy of that improbable outcome-- but it still makes me happy to imagine that it could. Can you tell that I have basketball on the brain? Oh, and my order of Thin Mints arrived today. All I need now are a few Cadbury Creme Eggs and the onset of March Madness will be complete.