Now that George Mason University pulled off a huge win over Villanova in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the nostalgia for the 2006 run is out in full force. It's frustrating for the Patriots, I'm sure, because they are trying to create their own legacy and not merely ride the coattails of the 2006 team.
But just to get the record straight: the Patriots are staging some of the comparisons themselves. The above picture is a shot of the T-shirts the team has been wearing, which very clearly say they can be "this year's George Mason." The origin of the T-shirts was described in this Les Carpenter story.
And though it is hard to imagine his current team can get through an East region with Ohio State, Kentucky, Syracuse and North Carolina in the way, he nonetheless had T-shirts made for the players. They arrived this week. And on the back is printed the answer to the question that arises every year now from those wondering who that year's surprise Final Four team will be...
"We are this year's George Mason," they say.
