Yo AU fans, get a grip
American beat a decent Vermont team at home Saturday and the students responded by coming within an overturned cop car of an NCAA Championship celebration.
The Burlington Free Press missed the party. They were busy whining about how AU "roughed up Taylor Coppenrath in the post..."
But what we found more interesting than the box score, was how the Washington Post described what happened after the game:
We were less impressed.
Sure Vermont got some early season hype in USA Today, SI and ESPN The Magazine. That likely accounts for the Catamounts' 18 votes in the AP Poll. Most of those voters are beat writers who follow one team. They might get to see some of the big boys on TV, but I promise you all they know about a team like UVM is what they read.
Take a closer look at Vermont. They came into the AU game with a 2-1 mark. Granted the loss was a 7-point road loss at No. 2 Kansas. But that was the season opener for the Jayhawks, so we're not sure how much you can read into that. Remember last year Bucknell put a similar scare into then-No.3 Michigan.
Vermont's other wins: By 20 at home over a Marist team that lost by 27 at Holy Cross and by 23 at home over a 2-3 Iona team.
Don't get me wrong, we have the utmost respect for Tom Brennan. He's a fine coach and an even better quote. And Coppenrath is probably legit. We haven't seen him play, but our friends at College Hoops Net named him last season's unsung player of the year and plenty of other folks are singing his praises.
Regardless, Vermont is still an America East team, a conference ranked just slightly higher than the Patriot League. Celebrate a win at home over a decent team. Sure. But for 30 minutes after the game? C'mon. As Bill Walsh used to say, "Act like you've been here before."
Amidst all the Coppenrath hype, we can't help but ask: Where have you gone Eddie Benton?
The Burlington Free Press missed the party. They were busy whining about how AU "roughed up Taylor Coppenrath in the post..."
But what we found more interesting than the box score, was how the Washington Post described what happened after the game:
"The postgame handshakes following American's 67-64 victory over Vermont yesterday at Bender Arena took a little longer than usual. Some of American's players were delayed by a celebration at mid-court with students who had rushed the floor.Our pal Matt over at the Patriot Hoops Blog was all excited, too. But he's an AU guy, so that's to be expected I guess.
Nearly 30 minutes after the game ended, some fans remained and cheered the players again as they left the locker room"
We were less impressed.
Sure Vermont got some early season hype in USA Today, SI and ESPN The Magazine. That likely accounts for the Catamounts' 18 votes in the AP Poll. Most of those voters are beat writers who follow one team. They might get to see some of the big boys on TV, but I promise you all they know about a team like UVM is what they read.
Take a closer look at Vermont. They came into the AU game with a 2-1 mark. Granted the loss was a 7-point road loss at No. 2 Kansas. But that was the season opener for the Jayhawks, so we're not sure how much you can read into that. Remember last year Bucknell put a similar scare into then-No.3 Michigan.
Vermont's other wins: By 20 at home over a Marist team that lost by 27 at Holy Cross and by 23 at home over a 2-3 Iona team.
Don't get me wrong, we have the utmost respect for Tom Brennan. He's a fine coach and an even better quote. And Coppenrath is probably legit. We haven't seen him play, but our friends at College Hoops Net named him last season's unsung player of the year and plenty of other folks are singing his praises.
Regardless, Vermont is still an America East team, a conference ranked just slightly higher than the Patriot League. Celebrate a win at home over a decent team. Sure. But for 30 minutes after the game? C'mon. As Bill Walsh used to say, "Act like you've been here before."
Amidst all the Coppenrath hype, we can't help but ask: Where have you gone Eddie Benton?
