No doubt many people woke up this morning, came into work, and had a similar conversation to the one above. Let's face it, come March, everyone pretends to be a college basketball fan, it's the things to do, but very few people knew anything about Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) before the start of the tournament. I too did not know much about them. I knew that they beat Miami earlier this season but that was the extent of my knowledge of FGCU. I am usually not one to jump on a band wagon and become a fan of the team doing well. I remember when I was in 4th grade I think, living in Tucson, AZ, there was a girl in my class named Kelley. She was the prettiest girl in our class and all the boys had a crush on her. I remember one day I asked her who her favorite NFL team was and she told me the Green Bay Packers. I thought to myself, "Why would she be a Packers fan? We don't live anywhere near Green Bay. Where the heck is Green Bay?" So I asked her, "Why are you a Packers fan?" She responded, "Because they won the Super Bowl." Well that was all I needed to hear to no longer have a crush on her. Even as a 4th grader, I could not stand people who liked teams only because they were good and won championships. I don't know why, it was some internal natural feeling I had, but I could not betray my team simply because another team was better than them. I am 100% against band-wagon fans. Or am I?
After this weekend, I think I may have to hitch by wagon to FGCU and become a fan of the Eagles. I am sure I am not the only person who feels this way after watching them beat #2 Georgetown and #7 San Diego State. I cannot remember ever seeing a team that was this exciting before. So I decided to study up a little bit on Florida Gulf Coast so that when I tell people I am a fan, I do not sound like I became a fan 3 days ago, even though I did.So for all you who like me have decided to be a true blue, die hard, til death (or at least until they lose), Eagles fan, here are a few facts that you should know about FGCU:
1) The University has only been around since 1997. Let's put this into perspective. Florida, who the Eagles play on Friday has been around since 1853. Georgetown who the Eagles beat in the first round was established in 1789 and San Diego State who they defeated in round two came into existence in 1897. The youngest of those 3 schools is 100 years older then FGCU and the oldest is 208 years older. The University is younger than every single player on the team.
2) Florida Gulf Coast has only only had a Division I sports program since 2007 but did not become eligible until 2011 because they had a 4 year probationary period. So in only 2 years they have gone from their first year of full eligibility to a spot in the Sweet 16.
3) FGCU is located in Fort Myers, FL and when it was originally established, classes were being held in trailers. Fort Myers is a town of just over 63,000 people and is located 2 hours northwest of Miami. Campus is just a short drive from the beach.
4) The FGCU mascot is named Azul the Eagle. Azul mean blue in Spanish, in case anyone forgot day one of High School Spanish class. But Azul is not Azul, he is brown and white just like any other bald eagle. Go ahead and add him on Facebook.
5) FGCU is coached by Andy Enfield who has been the head coach since 2011. In his first season as head coach he brought the Eagles to the Atlantic Sun championship game and in his second season he won the Atlantic Sun title game earning the FGCU their first automatic bid to the tournament.
6) As everyone who watched the game knows, Enfield is married to a former supermodel. But what most people don't know is that on their first date, he took her to get dinner before they attended a basketball game, and where did he take his beautiful date to eat? Well only finest and most delicious establishment known to man, Taco Bell.
7) FGCU's leading scorer this season is Sherwood Brown, a Senior Guard from Orlando, FL. Brown is majoring in Legal Studies and was the 2013 A-Sun player of the year. He was not named after the band Sherwood (est. 2002) or the Sherwood Forest in England, he was given the same name as his father. But I have no idea who or what his father was named after.
8) Five of the FGCU players are from the state of Florida, but three of them are from over-sees, Germany, Switzerland, and Croatia.
9) The most expensive season tickets to the Men's Basketball team are $279. The cheapest season tickets are $99 for general admission. The Alico Arena where they play seats 4,500 people. Many major universities charge $279 for a single game ticket if you want to sit in the lower bowl. For example an average single game ticket for the University of Arizona is $150, season tickets were priced from $500 for the worst seats all the way to $2,100.
10) FGCU is the first ever #15 seed to make it to the sweet 16. Six previous times a 15 seed knocked off a 2 seed in the first round, but never before has that 2 seed won the second round game to advance to the round of 16.
Now that we all know a little bit more about FGCU, I think it is ok if we decide to cheer for them on Friday night against Florida. GO EAGLES!!!
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