I can't believe I am writing about Georgetown Football two days before the opening game of the Georgetown Basketball season but as Iwillpaytheway pointed out, the team deserves some recognition. On Saturday, 30 minutes after the Men's Basketball team tips off at the Verizon Center, the Georgetown Football team will take the field in Bethlehem, PA for a chance at its first Patriot League title in school history. The only thing standing in the way are the mighty Mountain Hawks of Lehigh. Overly dramatic? You bet'cha. But this is important stuff.
(More After the Jump)
The Hoyas have 21 seniors on the team. Those 21 players came to Georgetown in 2008 and did not win a Patriot League game until 2010. They went 0-11 in conference in their first two years, 2-19 overall. I will outright admit that I have no idea what changed, so like all things done well on this blog, I asked someone else to comment. Here is a what a former Hoya football player that graduated in 2008 had to say:
I went to one game this year and the football team is much more aggressive than I ever remembered. For the past 5-10 years the players played and the coaches coached very defensively. Unfortunately a defense with no aggression goes 0-11. An offensive-minded defense wins championships. This year, the offense takes chances and throws the ball down the field and the defense blitzes and turns the ball over. The players looked better and the coaches coached better which is evident in the results.
In terms of moving forward, I think this season will have a snow-ball effect. We have not had offseason recruiting with a winning record to flaunt in the past 10 years, let alone a Patriot League Championship. The facilities still are horrible, but somehow we have been able to recruit good enough players to beat Lafayette, Holy Cross, Colgate, and hopefully Lehigh. When it rains it pours - Georgetown football wins the next national championship before basketball wins one (kidding, sort of).
I am not congratulating anyone yet because the season is not over but them Hoyas footballers have made us proud. I hope the Verizon Center gives the crowd updates on the score on Saturday.
Now back to your regularly scheduled basketball banter.