Cornell's Run to the (Bitter?)Sweet Sixteen

Back in early February I wrote a blog post in response to Cornell Basketball's ascension into the top 25 in the coaches' poll. The gist of the argument was that while Cornell may have been enjoying temporary success the glory of their program it couldn't hold a candle to the historically decorated Princeton Tigers.Fast forward to yesterday, when Cornell absolutely demolished the Wisconsin Badgers in the second round of the NCAA tournament. This was a different win entirely than their first round victory over Temple (considering Temple's head coach, former Penn coach Fran Dunphy, has made in to the NCAA tournament 12 times and been knocked in out of the first round 11 times). This was a game Cornell was not meant to win. But it wasn't even close; Cornell was up by 12 at half and won by 18.This is the first time an Ivy League team has been to the Sweet Sixteen since Penn in 1979. And watching Cornell's historic run has made me reconsider my earlier blog post. Traveling back to Princeton this past weekend, I noticed people gathered in bubbles outside the bars and restaurants in airports and train stations, trying to watch the tournament. Normal people cared about an Ivy League sports team.For the first time in my life, I was jealous of Cornell.I'd gladly give up the storied past for a chance at present relevance. I'd love to watch my team on national television rather than search for streaming video of the CBI (where it looks like we won't pull it out against the mighty Jaguars of IUPUI).What makes Ivy League basketball so different from football is that at the end of the season, our best basketball team gets to play against the other best teams in the country. It's fun to be an underdog. And it's even more fun when you win as an underdog. Cornell has done that twice already, and word on the street is that they'll give Kentucky a game.So good luck Cornell. Enjoy it while it lasts. Because while we might have an offense named after us, I'd rather see a Princeton team running a Cornell offense into the Sweet Sixteen any day.