Editorial:

We can’t help ourselves, we are caught up in March Madness and the fact that our own Aztecs are once again in the big tournament. For those of our readers who are not big sports fans, you know who you are, March Madness is when the best college basketball programs for the year compete to determine who is Numero Uno. 72 teams start out and three weeks later a team is crowned champion.

We can’t help but be excited because once again our very own San Diego State Aztecs are in the tournament. By the time most of our readers peruse this editorial, the Aztecs will have either won their first round game… or not. Their first game is today, Friday the 16th at 9:30 in the morning.

As a long time alumni we have gone through thick and thin with the Aztecs. It has always been fun to go and watch the team play. They didn’t always win but they always played a good game. We saw them play in Peterson Gym, the San Diego Sports Arena and now in Viejas Arena. They may not have won a lot, but they played an entertaining game under such coaches as Smokey Gains. We watched Michael Cage, probably the Aztecs best player until last year when Kawhi Leonard led the Aztecs to the Sweet 16. For those non-sports fans this means the Aztecs won their first two games in the tournament making them one of the best 16 teams in the country.

Last year a lot was expected of the Aztecs. They were expected to make it to the Sweet 16 and even further. This team was loaded with some very talented players. Two of them now play in the NBA. This year our Aztecs were not expected to win many games, it was to be a rebuilding year. But these Aztecs surprised everybody because not only did they win, but they tied for 1st, as league champions.

This is what makes this year’s Aztecs special. They overcame a lack of height, a lack of experience, a lack of a deep bench, and a brutal travel schedule that was out of the twilight zone. This team played hard and they overcame all of this, the ultimate underdog overachievement.

Most of the so-called experts predict that the Aztecs will lose their first game in the tournament, but we are sure they did not take into account the Aztec heart. The experts don’t know about these Aztecs overcoming long odds all year long.
Win or lose, we are proud of the Aztecs. In true sports vernacular, we say ‘wait until next year’ when this young team comes out to play and the odds are on their side.

Go Aztecs!