Fantastic game

I have a lot of stuff I want to talk about—and I will do so in future posts. Now that the 2005 NCAA championship game is over, however, I have to comment. As you probably know, North Carolina beat Illinois 75-70. As a Tar Heels fan and an Illinois native I am both ecstatic and heart-broken. You might think I am just saying that because my team won, but even if the Illini weren't from my state I would have felt bad for them. They are a GREAT team and if these two teams were to play 100 times they'd probably win 50. There are a lot of stand-up, team-oriented players on Illinois that just make you want to stand up and cheer as a basketball fan. I've watched every game they played in the tournament and they are definitely deserving of all the praise they have garnered this season. As Arizona learned, no lead is safe against them, as they are the kind of guys that just won't give up and will never be blown out. My hats off to the players and coaches of the University of Illinois for representing our great state with dignity, class, and fantastic effort. I sincerely hope the team is back competing for the national championship next season.

All that being said, I am so happy for North Carolina and coach Roy Williams. Roy is a fantastic coach and is ever so deserving of the championship that will cement his status as an elite college basketball coach. As for North Carolina, I've followed them for eleven seasons now, filled with enough ups and downs to make a roller-coaster dizzy. I've experienced three Final Four appearances before this season but disappointing finishes each time. I've seen great basketball stars like Stackhouse, Wallace, Carter, and Jamison, but I also have seen an 8-20 2001-02 season that seemed unreal. I'll admit that I had some doubt about the future of the team but Roy Williams has erased it all. Congrats to him, his players, and the 2005 national champion North Carolina Tar Heels!

-Mark