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Big East Tournament going on right now, and Georgetown — I went there — is in the semifinals tonight. Last night on ESPN (I worked there!), some commentator was saying “This is their first Friday or later appearance since 2005,” which is blatantly wrong, as they played on Friday night as recently as 2013 (perhaps even more recently), and they definitely played in the Saturday night finals in 2007, because I was there.
Here’s the basic contextual background to this story, for some pre-context: the 2007 Big East Finals were on March 10, 2007. I was 26, living in Connecticut, working for ESPN. I would leave the Connecticut job that September and work for ESPN in New York City. I think dating-wise, which seems kinda relevant at 26, I had been with a woman in Teach for America, but that ended in September 2005. So I had been single almost two years. Connecticut was odd sledding because I worked nights and weekends. I’m not going to come out and tell you I never went on dates or got laid, because I did (pats self on back), but it wasn’t a very frequent thing.
So I work the morning of March 10, 2007 in Connecticut, then I drive down to NYC around 3pm — it’s about a two-hour drive — and I randomly park on the far-ass west side, like 11th Avenue somewhere. I go over to Stout, which is a bar near Penn Station/MSG, and I meet some Georgetown kids. I’m 26 and life is hot. While a…
