They Won't Be Singing "There Goes Old Georgetown" in Motown!

"Sweet Caroline"

Across Main Street from the silence of the college church sanctuary,
On Good Friday, there was a buzz in the Soda Shoppe, legendary.
Adorning the walls are photos of varsity stars over the generations;
If there is a Davidson myth that lives, the old "M&M" is the location.

In this yet small, academically conscious, college town,
The focus in everyone's mind was to get past the first round.
For the Wildcats were facing Gonzaga U. in the NCAA,
And the crowd was cringing, or shouting, on every play.

Like an opening-night performance on Broadway, a "diminutive" guard was the star,
Racking up 30 points in the second half, as the student athletes raised the bar...
'Tis written: it matters not whether you win or lose--but how you play the game.
NOT this season, for the curse is broken, life-after-Lefty has suddenly been regained!

II

The very physical blue and gray giants from Georgetown entered the second round
As heavy favorites, in sportswriter lingo: a No. 2 seed versus a mere No. 10 seed.
They got off to a roaring start, shooting the lights out...a 17-point lead;
Well into the second half, the pushy big guys were, seemingly, victory bound.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the "sweet sixteen" in Detroit, the motor city:
There stood a Zeus-like Olympian god in the way, cool, soft, sweet-shot Stephen Curry.
With the thunderbolt as his sign, the rainbow as his messenger, he sunk a bunch of threes;
Cheered on by Davidson red and Carolina powder blue, he shot over the towering trees!

While his teammates forced turnovers, took the charges, and executed assists on offense,
He (and Richards) fluidly overcame the heralded low-percentage shot, stingiest defense.
With five minutes to go, the Wildcats caught the fouling Hoyas (what?) for the first time;
Those multinational whiz kids did not look back, and soon were singing "Sweet Caroline."

William E. Jackson, Jr.
Class of 1957