Monday my alma mater, Johns Hopkins, met Duke University for the NCAA Division I lacrosse championship. Now while a lot of folks get damn near rabid when their college is in a championship game I'll confess that I'm not quite that excitable. Yet when I stumbled across the game on cable I had to stop to witness the drama.
Hopkins was in the lead by 1 point with under 5 minutes to go. A penalty put them a man down, then another penalty put them down yet another, and the Blue Devils took advantage scoring a goal to tie things up. Fate seemed on Duke's side but to their credit Hopkins went right back up the field and reclaimed a one point advantage. Some heart-stopping shots by Duke that careened off the goal followed, and it was not until Duke's last second shot went wide that Hopkins could say they'd claimed a second title in three years.
I had to feel good about JHU coming through - not just because I attended the place but because this team was pretty well written off by everyone a few weeks back after losing a few games. They showed great perseverance and were definitely a classic case of the underdog coming out on top. But had one of those Duke shots been a centimeter closer to the goal and the outcome different, I'd have been truly happy to see Duke wear the crown. They have had their own story of overcoming adversity played out on the national stage over the last year, and it would have been seemingly devine providence had they gone all the way.
So congrats to the Hopkins guys and three cheers for the Duke players - two great teams that gave us a fantastic championship game.
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