Some who were there will tell you that Wednesday night's San Diego State men's basketball 70-66 victory over Saint Mary's in the NIT quarterfinals was the greatest Aztecs sports event they've ever experienced. They're almost right, but there's more.
What we witnessed was an exorcism. This was 12,000 screaming fans who sent packing whatever demons have been infecting the school's athletic programs over the last couple of decades.
I don't need to rehash the litany of disasters SDSU fans have experienced just as it appeared their team was about to scale the precipice. And it would take away from our good feelings. We know about them all too well.
The game Wednesday night was a tangible sign that SDSU is turning the corner, something we've been so close to for so long -- not just in men's basketball but other sports.
It's my position that 2009 is the dawn of a new era for athletics at San Diego State University. You can really sense things changing and people around town are slowly but surely figuring it out. The past two days at my work, a place where few folks attended or even noticed SDSU, people have been talking about the game.
But back to the new aura at SDSU. Consider that the women's hoops team both hosted the NCAA Tournament and won a game, just three years after going winless in conference play, and all the key players return next year. Water polo is ranked fifth in the nation. The best college baseball pitcher in the past decade is hurling for SDSU as I write. Softball is still good.
Then there's football. I really think this is where everything started to turn around. Following last fall's 2-10 disaster, what big-money boosters we have stepped forward with a whopping million bucks to buy out coach Chuck Long. That people are willing to fork over serious money during the worst economy in years to get rid of someone is telling.
Somehow, be it fate suddenly turned kind or what, we ended up with Ball State's Brady Hoke taking the reigns. Hoke knows how to turn around bad programs with no resources. This program, despite the 2008 record, is not in horrible shape overall and SDSU has a lot of resources. That potential exists here, along with obvious respect for the new coach, attracted Al Borges and Rocky Long to the mesa. They're merely two of the best coordinators in college football over the past two decades. Adding an NFL legend in Brian Sipe to the staff and bringing in a very solid recruiting class considering the time available only made things look better.
Hoke started the turnaround the moment he was introduced at his press conference. With a commanding "Good afternoon" and his expectation of a response from the gathered media, he woke people up very quickly. Whoa! This guy is different! Things are going to be different in Aztecland with him around. And they have been -- ever since.
I have no idea if coach Steve Fisher's men's basketball Aztecs will defeat Baylor Tuesday at the NIT semifinals in New York. The Bears have beaten some pretty good teams and their midseason slump was courtesy of some very good opponents. Plus, with good perimeter shooters and a 7-footer inside, they present the matchup combination (think Utah and BYU) that has caused them some trouble this year.
If the Aztecs lose, it doesn't matter, because they were playing in Madison Square Garden at a time when only seven other basketball teams are still alive.
In those troubling past couple of decades, they wouldn't have made it this far. They'd have approached the summit, against a great Saint Mary's team, and fallen short. That the Gaels gave the Aztecs all they wanted and the home team still prevailed as the fans went bananas, is further evidence that times are finally changing for the better.
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