Thank You, Mystics

The Mystics haven't given the BCs much to be grateful for this offseason. In fact, in the last couple of months, they've caused us nothing but unmitigated grief. But we believe in giving credit where credit is due, so we have to admit that, today, at least, it was good to still be on the Mystics' mailing list.

And that's because tonight, thanks to the Mystics' email, as we entered GW's Smith Center to buy tickets for the Colonials' game against Auburn, we knew the magic words to repeat at the ticket window: "I'm a Mystics fan." This got us $6 off the regular $9 ticket price. Wow, a game ticket for only 3 bucks! What a deal! At least that was what we thought before we watched the game.

This past week, we've been feeling the need for a little college hoops fix, having missed the most recent Maryland games while BC Eileen was on injured reserve. And with the Terps not playing at home until December 28, we figured why not take in some action within walking distance from our offices.

We hate to say it, but truthfully, this was a $3 game at best. Neither team could hit water from a boat shot well at all. In fact, for most of the game, both teams were shooting under 30%, which is pretty bad however you slice it. When the final buzzer sounded, Auburn had won, 52-45. We have the feeling that both of these teams may struggle a bit this season in conference play. (We hope we're wrong.)

Now although our evening was kinda disappointing from a basketball perspective, we did learn some interesting sports history. Having noticed that the Auburn players had the words "War Eagle" rather than their own names on the backs of their jerseys, we were puzzled . . . the Auburn mascot is a tiger, isn't it? Not a bird. Hmmm.

Fortunately, the BCs spotted some genuine Auburn fans (from actual Cash Cam Newton territory). How did we find these fans, you're wondering? Being the keen observers that we are, we scoped out a few folks down the row wearing orange jackets and shirts that said "Auburn." (Was this a clue?) So we asked them why a team called the Tigers wear jerseys that say "War Eagle." "Well," they answered, "it goes back to the Civil War." The Civil War? (Wow, we thought, this might just be worth $3 after all.)

These genuine Auburn fans then proceeded to tell us the entire story, beginning with a wounded Confederate soldier on a battlefield, and a baby eagle. BC Judith, being a history buff, found the tale fascinating. We won't go into the details, but you can read the story here. Was it true, we asked them. Well, perhaps not, they confessed. But it makes for a good story, and it was certainly more interesting than the game.

Also more interesting than the game was the GW Dance Team, which performed at half time. Since tonight was GW's "holiday game" (who knew?), the dancers were wearing Santa hats and glittering short red dresses. They performed a Rockettes-style routine to a jingle bell song, and they were, in fact, very well-rehearsed and entertaining. We'd also like to give a shout out to the male members of the GW Cheerleading Team . . . one in particular, who was able to hold a female cheerleader in the air using just one hand. We have to say, that's impressive.

On second thought, we got our three bucks worth. Maybe the evening would've even been worth $4. So we'll say it: Thank you, Mystics.

Cell Phone Photo Credit: DC BasketCases