Loyola-College Cinderella Story

Every year in March Madness there is a Cinderella story or a David and Goliath write up. This year, the talk of the tournament is Loyola-Chicago and being ranked 11th in rankings, the odds are slim to make it into the sweet 16, but they fought through the adversity by knocking out Miami (ranked 6th) and Tennessee (ranked 3rd).  The three-decade slump of being out of the NCAA tournament has ended and now they face Nevada in order to make it into the elite eight. In Cinderella stories comes with a dedicated fan followed with a write up and this one is named Susana Gomez. She is a senior studying psychology and can personally attest that Rambler craze has spread through out the university campus.
The strange thing about it is she had not watched a Loyola basketball game all season, but she was not alone. Average presence at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena sold around 2000 tickets a game, which is less than half capacity. Coach Moser passed out free hot dogs and t-shirts in order to get more students to come support the team. Now that the Loyola-College basketball team has gained the attention of the students, Susana is planning a student watch party. She was one among 500 students to attend a welcome home rally for the 11th seed Loyola team after last-second upsets over Miami and Tennessee in the first couple of rounds of the tournament. Gomez told reporters “It’s brought the whole campus together,” while also adding “We are now all taking on the motto, ‘We’re all Ramblers. Onward LU!’” It has been years since Loyola-College has been relevant, let alone a power, in college basketball.
They won a national tittle way back in 1963 with a team, led by coach Ireland, which broke the unwritten rules of the era by starting four black players. Colleges at the time would never put more than three black players on the floor at the same time. The last time they made an appearance in the tournament was in 1985 behind star players Alfredrick Hughes and Andre Battle before being stopped by Georgetown, a team led by hall of famer Patrick Ewing. The three decades of middling basketball then ensued, until now. Loyola-College deserves all the recognition available due to their hard fought battles against two powerhouse teams in the SEC. This is a true Cinderella story and could be one for the books if they make it to the finals to secure another title since 1963.

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