On UNCC, George Mason and things to prove

I have to give it up for the boys in green and gold.

Not, unfortunately, my own Charlotte 49ers, who did not make through the first round, let alone to the Final Four. But having read the news circulating around the improbable rise of the George Mason team, I definitely know who to root for now.

See, we have a lot more than colors in common. GMU and UNCC were both founded around the same time in the shadows of larger, older and better-known schools. Both suffer from the "commuter-school" stigma, as if they were nothing more than really, really big community colleges. And grads from both schools have felt the sting of lowered expectations when looking for a job.

I would have preferred if our team was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, if reporters from around the country had suddenly discovered the leafy campus on the edge of Highway 49, but hey.

If it couldn't be us, I'm glad it's GMU.

But guys, really. yellow shirts with green letters? What are you, Tweety Bird? Switch it. Trust me.