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Wow. George Mason. Wow. Little George Mason knocked off Michigan State, North Carolina (heh), Wichita State, and U-Conn (U-Conn!) and they're now in the Final Four. Wow. I was hoping they'd win at least one tournament game, but look what happened. Wow. What a ride.

I know it's not correct, but I've always kind of thought of George Mason not as a true university or even a commuter school, but rather as a community college. To me, Mason is that little university a mile up the road--the same place Beth takes Luke to run around on the ballfields and the same place I go when I need a symphony fix. That's just how I've always viewed George Mason.

I guess I'll need to change my perception now.

No, I'm not a GMU alum, but I did sort of adopt them a couple months ago when Beth and I went to see them play (hey, I'm allowed--and no, I didn't jinx them because getting to the Final Four is enough). Sure, I may be a bandwagon fan, but I think that's okay with this team. Mason Nation indeed.

It's been wall-to-wall coverage on all of the local and national media outlets and that's incredible. I get a kick out of hearing the words "Fairfax, Virginia" on SportsCenter every morning. That little university a mile up the road--the one with the hilariously cool coach, the one with the constantly smiling shooting guard, the one with the funny green (and lazy) mascot--now has a place in history. For me, this might be the best story in sports in the past five years (which, I know, isn't saying much).

And yes, they might get the shit rattled out of them by Florida, but then again, why couldn't they beat the Gators? And why couldn't they beat LSU or UCLA after that? Look what they've done so far. They've smacked down four teams that range from the Pretty Damn Good (Michigan St., Wichita St.) to the Very Good (UNC) to the Best In The Nation (U-Conn). Let me tell you, it could happen.

It really could happen.