Pride for the Cherry & White

Earlier this afternoon, the Temple men's basketball team lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament by a score of 72-61 to Michigan State. A group of us from work went to the Cherry Street Tavern to watch the second half of the game.

Today's loss was a real disappointment, of course, but what's most important is -- as always -- to look at the bigger picture. And here, the big picture is that Temple undoubtedly had a great season. They are the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 champions. Before today's game, they finished the season with seven straight wins; in other words, they came together as a team and began rolling right when it mattered most. And considering the preseason prognostications, they far exceeded all expectations; that, in my mind, is the sign of a true champion: working your ass off and ultimately proving all the naysayers wrong through positive actions and concrete results.

Looking beyond today to the bigger picture that includes the future, almost the entire team returns next year -- and now with NCAA tourney experience (and the confidence that comes along with that) under their belts. Although Temple will lose their senior leader, Mark Tyndale, we'll still have our leading scorer, Dionte Christmas, who'll be a senior next season.

Props and many thanks once again to Luis Guzman, starting point guard, for hooking us up with comp tickets for several of this season's games. I'm already looking forward to next season, to seeing all the returning players get even better, and to seeing Temple continue to build up a nationally-recognized and -respected program.

In honor of the guys, and with pride for the cherry & white, I'll leave you now with the lyrics to Temple's two fight songs (you have the offseason to memorize):

"T for Temple U"

T for Temple U
Un-i-ver-sity!
Fight! Fight! Fight! For the cherry and the white;
For the cherry and the white we'll fight, fight, fight!

"Fight! Temple Fight!"

Fight! Temple, fight on!
Fight with all your might!
Fight for the Cherry and White,
Keep our colors high!
Roll that ball and hit the line,
All the Temple stars will shine,
Skill and courage win the game
Fight on, Temple, fight!