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April 1, 2006

George Mason is a true Cinderella

By Wayne Kraus

OK, students — time for a history lesson.

He was born in 1725 in Fairfax County, Va. He was a prominent landowner and active in his community. He married Ann Eilbeck in 1750 and together they had nine children.

He was a friend of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, and Jefferson called him, “the wisest man of his generation.”

He was a prominent Virginia politician and served as a delegate at the Constitutional Convention. He was one of the most frequent speakers at the convention. But in the end, he did not sign the document because he feared that the federal government was being given too much power.

He championed individual and states’ rights and was the instrumental force in getting the Bill of Rights passed. Though he owned slaves, he wanted to abolish slavery.

In 1972 a school in Fairfax, Va., was dedicated that now bears his name. That institution is George Mason University.

Two weeks ago, most Americans could not tell you where George Mason University is located. (I’m sure a large number of them did not even know it existed.)

When the Patriots were given an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, CBS’ Billy Packer did everything but spit on their logo while discrediting their team and the selection committee in general.

And then a funny thing happened.

George Mason took to the court and beat Michigan State. Two days later, it sent defending national champ North Carolina packing. Wichita State was next. Then the coup de grâce, an 86-84 overtime victory over No. 1 seed Connecticut.

Journalists from Alaska to Zimbabwe are having a field day with this story.

The only other No. 11 seed to advance this far was LSU in 1986.

They’ve defeated three former national championship teams en route to their Final Four appearance.

They are “The Little Engine That Could.”

They are the first mid-major in over a generation to play on the final weekend.

The fact is that George Mason could win this thing. The Patriots are playing well and are every bit as deserving as Florida, UCLA or LSU to take home the title.

Many would argue that the Patriots are more deserving, given the quality of teams they’ve beaten and the lack of respect afforded them by Packer and fellow media members upon their initial inclusion in the tournament.

I have no doubt that George Mason will be ready to play when it laces up its sneakers against Florida on Saturday.

The only questions I have are:

One, will the public embrace the game with big television ratings?

And two, where in town can I go to get a George Mason University sweatshirt?

More than 200 years ago, George Mason stood firm in refusing to put his signature on the Constitution. He believed that individuals should be afforded specific rights in this new country and that the central government should not be too powerful.

If Billy Packer had been in charge of the selection process, George Mason University almost certainly would not have been given the right to play for the national championship. Packer would have catered to the wishes of the CBS brass, opting instead for Cincinnati or Michigan.

Luckily, NCAA tournament chairman Craig Littlepage stood firm in his decision to include the Patriots. After all, America is the land of opportunity.

Somewhere our founding fathers are smiling.

Wayne Kraus is a sports talk radio host and can be reached at espnwayne@yahoo.com.



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