In Baltimore and Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston, New York City and the Clyde's near Verizon Center, American University alumni gathered to watch the Eagles' game against Tennessee, a close call that ended with a deceiving 15-point loss (72-57) to Tennessee.
Along with a colleague this afternoon, I checked out the second half of the game on the second floor of Clyde's.
The organizers expected 50.
Nearly 300 turned out.
The buffet spread had long since been destroyed. The tubs holding cold beer had been emptied. And it was loud.
One recent graduate estimated the crowd was half graduates from the last 2-3 years and half from 10-plus years ago.
"And a lot of us are on a two-hour lunch break," the grad said. "I didn't think it would be this close for this long."
The alumni watched the game on three flat-screen televisions.
Several alumni said watching No. 15 seed Belmont lose 71-70 to No. 2 seed Duke gave them hope for an American upset. The Eagles were making their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance (Division I).
Although they never led in the second half, the Eagles certainly got their fans' hopes up. Down 48-40 with 9:10 remaining, the room was quiet, as if the fans were thinking what I was thinking: "Heckuva effort, but reality has set in."
But then eight straight points, punctuated by consecutive 3-pointers and the room erupted ... for a few seconds. A Tennessee triple made it 53-49. AU would score next to make it 53-51 Vols. With 1:38 remaining, people started applauding, acknowledging AU's effort.
