OUR VIEWS Consensus Opinion

March Madness

A year ago at this time, the Jackets were beginning their incredible run that led to an appearance in the 2004 NCAA Championship game. This year, the Jackets have once again become the team that no one wants to face in the tournament. Tonight the Jackets will face George Washington University in a sold-out game in Nashville.

Coming off the heels of narrow loss to Duke in the ACC Championship game, the Jackets appear to be more than ready to take on the Colonials, and the fans will be behind them every step of the way, win or lose.

The fanbase for the basketball team has been incredible this year, unlike last year when fans didn ' t really seem to catch on until the tournament began. Long gone are the days when Head Coach Paul Hewitt had to create contests like the Greek Challenge to lure fairweather fans to basketball games. The student section was packed at all of the games this season. In addition, Hewitt and his players have maintained their celebrity status on campus all year that they had obtained from the Final Four last year.

Now with March Madness upon us, it ' s time for students to step up their game as well and cheer the team on tonight, whether it be from Nashville or from a home couch. Based on the success of the " Paul Hewitt Nation " T-shirts and student tickets selling out for the GWU first-round game on the first day, it doesn ' t appear that the Jackets will have a problem firing up their fans this year.

Win or lose tonight, students, and the rest of the Tech community, will never forget the joy, excitement and pride that Hewitt, his class of five outstanding seniors, and the rest of the team have brought to us over the past two years.

A speedy recovery

On Monday, Head Coach Chan Gailey suffered a heart attack, while playing racquetball at the Campus Recreation Center. We would like to extend our best wishes to Coach Gailey and his family. We hope he has a speedy recovery. Additionally, we would like to commend Gailey for his unselfishness and dedication to Tech during this difficult time - he called from the hospital to encourage his team to begin their spring practices as scheduled. The team could have delayed its practices due to a special waiver the NCAA had granted, but Gailey ' s phone call was motivation enough for the team to push onward with their training. Anyone wishing to send Gailey a get-well card can send it to the Georgia Tech Athletic Association at 150 Bobby Dodd Way, N.W., Atlanta, GA 30332. Get well soon, Chan!