What a Game! What a Season!

Don’t know what more can be said about the dramatic victory over New Mexico to clinch the MW championship. If I’d written it as a script for a movie, it would have been rejected as “too melodramatic, too unbelievable.” But it sure did happen! 

If you were there, you not only saw it, you felt it, you were a part of it. If you saw it on TV, or heard Ted Leitner’s call, you probably came close to that same level of involvement. There were 12,414 of us in Viejas that historic night and I’ll guarantee you, 10 years from now, at least another 20,000 will tell people how they remember being there – because they were, in spirit.

But that one great game was just the crowning touch to a wonderful season. Before the season, there was not much respect. Aztecs were picked to come in 4th in the MW. Even loyal fans, dedicated to full-house support, felt this would be a slightly “off year” starting to rebuild for next year. That’s not what the team thought; not what Coach Fisher and his staff believed. This was a TEAM determined to succeed. And they achieved their goal.

Along the way, they played a very close game with highly-ranked Arizona; beat both ranked Creighton and Marquette on a neutral court. And, for good measure, knocked off Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse, something no visitor had done in 68 games.

Going into the MW Tournament, our Aztecs are 27-3. No one would have predicted that. Not even Coach. After that, it’s the NCAA Tournament. Naturally, we all want to see them win every game. That’s the goal of this team. But, no matter what, they will stand as one of the very best in Aztec history, with one particular game that is the greatest I have seen in more than 1,000 over 68 seasons. Cheers!

2014 Mountain West Champs! (Photos by Ernie Anderson)

GO AZTECS!