Great Escape: Get Your Mason Party Started

In 2006 most of Fairfax, along with the rest of the world, watched stunned as the George Mason men's basketball team advanced to the Final Four. 

Nationally, few moments in sports in the last decade can compare, but locally, forget about it. None of the Washington professional programs have won anything since the early 1990s and while there have been a few college level successes around the region those events, on a national scale, just never happened in Fairfax.

2006, though, was a peculiar year.  Entering the NCAA tournament despite the protestations of a few who didn't feel they belonged the Patriots beat Michigan State, then North Carolina, then Wichita State and finally the Connecticut Huskies, creating exuberance locally and disbelief all across the country. George Mason advanced to the Final Four? How is that possible? 

For a few weeks the massive, sprawling commuter school -- previously regarded as a strong academic institution full of students averse to spending any time socializing on campus -- suddenly was the place to be.  The Today show broadcast on campus, ESPN cameras filmed students going to class, banners hung from windows and people lined up for hours just to buy Final Four t-shirts.  If you hadn't gone to Mason, you knew someone who had, and that was ample justification for dressing head to toe in green and gold, even if you went to JMU. 

"Oh, sorry Buffy, but when your school beats Connecticut in overtime, then I might go back to wearing purple. Now can you get Daddy his Mason sippy cup?  Thanks," you said.

Unfortunately, reality then intervened, George Mason lost Florida at the Final Four and Coach Jim Larranaga's squad returned to reality; being a good, mid-major program. But, the bandwagon never really stopped in Noerthern Virginia, it just kind of slowed down, and everybody jumped off and got back to their lives. Everyone waited until next year and they were, you know, not bad, they actually made it to the tournament in 2008, but lost in their first game.  A few fans stuck around, especially among the students. The rest of us just moved on.

Have you heard it, though? If you listen real closely, you can hear a rumbling coming out of Fairfax. The ground, ever so slightly, has started to shake.  Something has been building; an excitement has started to grow. The George Mason men's basketball team are good again; truly, definably good. They enter this weekend's CAA tournament cruising atop the longest winning streak in the nation, at 15 straight. They are ranked 26th in the nation in the AP poll and 25th in the USA Today coaches poll. A genuine groundswell is beginning to form.

It's a good time to hop back on the wagon.

At 12:00 pm Saturday the George Mason Patriots will play their first game in the CAA tournament in Richmond against either UNC Wilmington or Georgia State.  As of this writing tickets can still be obtained from Ticketmaster. For those who make the trip most alumni and fans, according to Mason's alumni website, will be staying either at the Hilton Garden Inn, the Richmond Marriott or the Omni Richmond Hotel.

Everyone else who stays home can see the game on Comcast Network or attend a Mason Nation Watch Party. Right now there are four such parties scheduled, either at The Mason Inn on campus, Brion's Grill in Fairfax, The Front Page in Ballston or Sal's NY Bar and Grill in Leesburg.  Go to Mason's alumni website to learn more or contact Melissa Bradby at 703-993-847 to set up your own.

If all else fails, walk down to the local pub and loudly demand they turn on the game. March Madness is here. Mason is back.