FANS OF THE FANS


FROM: Andrew Cook TO: Dave Benedict, Jeff Cupps DATE: 03/28/2011 11:42 AM SUBJECT: A Big Congratulations and Thank You from spectators at games this past weekend


Hi,


My wife and I are big basketball fans. I am from Iowa (Northern Iowa and Iowa State fan) and she is from Texas (UT). We live in Austin, Texas and bought tickets to the regional games a week before any teams were announced. We both got excited when we saw that you made it to the regionals. We love the under- dogs! We promptly bought VCU t-shirts to wear to the games.


I have to say (and I went to all Northern Iowa games and numerous Iowa State games growing up) your fans ROCK! Everything to the positive, sportsman- ship like atmosphere they created in the stands to the jazz bands performance! Your university and its fans deserve a big pat on the back for those wins, too. Dead serious here, but your fans out did all those Kansas fans hands down.


We had a great time visiting and cheering with all the die hard fans that showed up, and really appreciate them letting a couple of non-VCU people wear their colors and cheer with them.


Now we are just trying to decide if we buy tickets and go support you some more in Houston. If we end up not being part of that audience, you can guarantee we will be in a sports bar in Austin wearing your our VCU t-shirts and cheering VCU on to victory.


Thanks,


Andrew and Melissa Cook Austin, Texas


CLOSE TO HOME


More than anything, though, there was the time I sat next to my brother and my dad at a bar and watched the Rams upset the mighty Kansas Jayhawks to advance to the unchartered waters of the Final Four. Unable to even cheer in our sheer amazement, the three of us sim- ply exchanged hugs, even shed a few tears. It turned out VCU, the hometown team we had followed for so many years, meant even more to us than we thought.


VCU’s historic run confirmed several of my pre-conceived


beliefs: sport holds the endur-


ing power to unite people, post-season seed- ings don’t mean diddly-squat and Shaka Smart is absolutely and unequivocally the man — and he’ll be back in Richmond next year, by the way.


-- Nick Eilerson,The Cavalier Daily (April 4)


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