Tag: Ron Hunter

Last year, Mercer made a Cinderella run in the NCAA basketball tournament and spawned a thousand .gifs in the process. This year, it was Georgia State busting brackets and inspiring memes with its upset over No. 3 seed Baylor in the first round. Specifically, head coach Ron Hunter stole the spotlight from his own son, R.J., who buried the game-winning three-pointer, by plummeting off his stool in celebration.

Yet to those who root for pro sports (and, I hope, those who play them) the night felt unmistakably like a consolation prize. We were told repeatedly how lucky we are to be here in this world-class sports town. We were reminded that the New York media was against us. We were so showered with love and self-serving praise that you almost expected, say, a Boston sports fan to leave behind his seven titles in the last twelve years so he could come down and buy season tickets to half-empty Turner Field.