Apologies for the novel. I know in the Twitter age most people won’t read more than a sentence or two. For me this is a defining game in DP’s Mason career.
At the beginning of the season if anyone had told me we’d enter league play at 11 - 2 I would have asked them what they were smoking. I’m happy that we won the games we were supposed to win. I’m even happier that, to date, we have won at home. My fear is that we’ve just played lousy teams. I go into the vcu game with zero confidence after the a$$ kicking at the hands of TCU. It will be interesting to see how the staff and players respond.
I HATE vcu. They are a good team, not a great team. They have weaknesses that can be exploited. They press, they push, they bully, and we don’t usually handle it very well. It’s time to get over it, put on our big boy pants, push back, and kick some a$$.
I am certain of one thing. vcu fans will pack EBA because Mason season ticket holders will put their tickets up for sale and make lame excuses about why they can’t go. It’s not like the Redskins are in the playoffs. Students are on break so I don’t think many will show up. A crowd of 6,500 will include 4,500 of the ignorant and unwashed from Richmond. It will look and sound like a home game for vcu.
Dave Paulsen is 2 - 7 against vcu while at Mason.
2015 - 2016 Lost by 24 at vcu. Won by 10 at home.
2016 - 2017 Lost by 9 at home. Lost by 8 at vcu. Lost by 11 in the A10 tournament.
2017 - 2018 Lost by 8 at home. Won by 1 at vcu.
2018 - 2019 Lost by 16 at vcu. Lost by 35 at home.
Average margin of victory 5.5. Average margin of defeat 15.8.
This game will go a long way in showing me whether we are finally on the right track with DP or not. I have been on the fence in terms of wanting him to go or stay. If we win I will be ecstatic. If we lose a close one it will be okay with me after the two blowouts last year. I just want us to be competitive. If we fold up our tents and pee down our legs like we did last year I’ll be pissed.
The dreamer in me says we win by 10. vcu students are so distraught by the loss that they throw all of their crayons out of their dorm windows in a fit of rage. vcu alumni refuse to work on Monday resulting in the closure of every McDonald’s and 7-11 within a 50 mile radius of Richmond. I’ll go on a 6 day drinking binge and end up in Gulfport, Mississippi with no idea how I got there.
The optimist in me says we win by 1. I’ll celebrate by foolishly buying multiple rounds for the house at Brion’s after the game. A packed house orders double shots of Knob Creek resulting in my credit card maxing out.
The pessimist in me says we lose by 45. They’ll make us their b*tch, trade us for a pack of cigarettes, and the game will be over after the first 10 minutes. In short they will abuse our lack of size, skill, experience, and physicality. All optimism will leave the fan base. I’ll go on a drunken rampage and get arrested for pissing in the gas tank of the vcu bus. While in jail I fire off an email to Brad Edwards calling for DP’s head and as a result I am banned from the GMU campus and EBA for life. The only good comes when the presiding judge declares his mutual hate of vcu and releases me OR.
The historic realist in me says we lose by 20. At some point during the game vcu will go on a 15 - 18 point run. In the post game press conference DP will state that he doesn’t know what happened because we really practiced well. Obnoxious vcu fans will give me hell for rooting for a team that in their eyes does not belong in the A10. I’ll drown my sorrows and continue questioning DP’s tenure and future at Mason. I’ll lean to the “get rid of him side” with the understanding that I know it won’t happen. I will be supported by posters who only make an appearance during and after a loss.
We will remain the “Not Yet Ready for Prime Time Cast of Characters.”
