11-28-2008, 12:58 AM
I recently had a discussion with my uncle, and we began talking about 'Cinderella' teams who came out of nowhere to not necessarily win a championship, but take a sport by storm and go on one of those once-in-a-lifetime runs. And we both came to the conclusion that there really are no 'Cinderellas.'
I'll use George Mason for example from 2006. They entered the tournament an 11-seed and defeated #6 Michigan State 75-65. Upset? Yes! George Mason then went on to beat #3 North Carolina 65-60, #7 Wichita State 67-55 and #1 Connecticut 86-84 in OT. Now...here is when we concluded there are no 'Cinderellas.' There is no doubt George Mason was an underdog in every game they played. Yes, they upset MSU, UNC, WSU and UConn, but you would think that after maybe the 2nd or 3rd 'upset' this team would be for real. Maybe they belonged there. Who's to say the George Mason Patriots of 2006 were not Final Four material? The first few wins were pretty big, no doubt, but we said was, after about 3-4 wins, a 'Cinderella' team must be pretty legit. They didn't just happen to win these games by chance. They were the better team when it mattered.
I just figured I'd get a thread started on this. I found the conversation with my uncle pretty interesting. What are your all's thoughts? 'Cinderella' or legit?
I'll use George Mason for example from 2006. They entered the tournament an 11-seed and defeated #6 Michigan State 75-65. Upset? Yes! George Mason then went on to beat #3 North Carolina 65-60, #7 Wichita State 67-55 and #1 Connecticut 86-84 in OT. Now...here is when we concluded there are no 'Cinderellas.' There is no doubt George Mason was an underdog in every game they played. Yes, they upset MSU, UNC, WSU and UConn, but you would think that after maybe the 2nd or 3rd 'upset' this team would be for real. Maybe they belonged there. Who's to say the George Mason Patriots of 2006 were not Final Four material? The first few wins were pretty big, no doubt, but we said was, after about 3-4 wins, a 'Cinderella' team must be pretty legit. They didn't just happen to win these games by chance. They were the better team when it mattered.
I just figured I'd get a thread started on this. I found the conversation with my uncle pretty interesting. What are your all's thoughts? 'Cinderella' or legit?