"The Charbor Chronicles": DePaul Basketball

I do not even remember when I became a fan of DePaul men's basketball, or even why, exactly. There were a number of variables but, ultimately, I did become a fan.

When I was a kid, they were a lot better and far more relevant than they have been in recent years. That was a DePaul squad that knew what they were doing. They were ranked number 2, and always seemed to be on the verge of great things.

Of course, I was a bit too young to understand every aspect of how college basketball worked, and do not remember watching the March Madness games, where DePaul had the rather dubious distinction of being one of the highly rated teams, one of the heavy favorites, that wound up being bounced out in their first game for several consecutive seasons.

Still, they were a very good team back then with serious national championship relevance, and were always in the conversation. They sent some players to the NBA, and had a legendary coach in Ray Meyer.

That was when I got into DePaul basketball, and there were several factors for why I got into them. They had cool looking uniforms, and the lettering of the name "DePaul" looked unique and cool, as did the squares or rectangles running down the side of their uniforms. Also, I liked that they wore predominately blue uniforms.

Those were all some of the reasons why, almost inexplicably, I began to follow DePaul basketball.

Those games were also the way that I began to be acclimated to basketball, at a time when sports meant NFL football (especially the New York Giants) and WWF Wrestling, back when they could still legally call themselves the WWF.

So, they were a fairly big deal.

Yet, eventually, I stopped following them for a long time. When I began to get into basketball again, it was the pros. The NBA. College could be intriguing, particularly the single elimination games of March Madness.

But as for following DePaul?

Yeah, not so much.

Then, many, many years later, when I was an adult with a kid of my own, I began, almost inexplicably, to get back into DePaul basketball again.

Don't get me wrong: they were always my favorite college basketball team. But it was from a distance. Then, they were on television (forget who they were playing against), and the commentators were saying that they had suffered through some miserable times, but had now started to put some solid pieces together to become a quality team again.

It did not last, but watching them again kind of got me back into them. I began to search for opportunities to see them, and even began to look for opportunities to get tickets to see the team in person.

Eventually, I did see them in person, going to a game hosted by Seton Hall a couple of years ago.

Kept looking for chances to go to another game since, as well.

And finally got the chance when, once again, Seton Hall hosted them again last night. The tickets were affordable, since this is college, and not the pros. And we had pretty decent tickets this time around, much like we did the first time that we saw them, a couple of years ago. Again, college seats are far cheaper.

So, there I was, seeing DePaul again!

Funny, because I got into them as a time when I was taking sports less and less seriously.

Yet, I started getting right back into DePaul, perhaps precisely because they are difficult to follow these days. I mean, they are not number one or two anymore. In fact, I cannot recall the last time that they were in the top ten, or even ranked. The mighty have fallen, indeed.

So, they are not a local team for me, and hardly are ever on television. In short, they are more difficult to follow than they used to be, despite the superior technology. They are no longer a serious title contender, at least not in recent years, although it would be nice if they were.

I like DePaul because of the team that they used to be, and because of what they remind me of. I was a kid, watching them in Liberty, at the home of my grandparents, back when they were both still alive. The world seemed to be a brighter, more welcoming place. The future held all sorts of possibilities. And DePaul basketball, among other things, was one of the exciting things that I followed on television.

I never got too much into either college basketball or college football. Sure, I would watch a bowl game or two (tops), and might want some of the March Madness elimination games. But that was about it.

Until 2009, when DePaul began to recover a bit, and made it into the March Madness tournament once again. They played Dayton in the first round, and won! Then, they went up against UConn, precisely when the Huskies were catching fire, on their way to another national championship. But it was still nice to see them play in some relevant games again, after so much time had passed.

That was when I began to follow DePaul again.

They have not exactly been a hot team since, although they are showing signs of recovery this season.

Ironically, I picked a hell of a game to attend as a fan of DePaul. They had a monstrous 51-game losing streak against ranked teams that dated back something like a decade! But it would end on this night, on the road, against number 25 Seton Hall!

DePaul seemed to take command of the game early, and they looked like the clearly better team throughout most of the first half. But, showing why they are a top-25 team, Seton Hall fought their way back, and were able to close the margin considerably just before halftime.

It was worrying, because it felt like the kind of game that Seton Hall would start to take over early in the second half, then run away with.

Yet, DePaul rediscovered the formula that had allowed them to take a commanding lead and, within the first few minutes of the second half, they had reclaimed a sold 10-point lead, taking the air out of the Prudential Center. They were playing sharp basketball, hitting their shots, and playing with a stifling "D" that seemed to force Seton Hall into turnovers.

But it did not last, and Seton Hall made their run. The lead kept getting smaller and smaller until, at one point, it no longer existed.

Until, at one point, it became a deficit. Then, a fairly sizable one.

Following that particular script, it sure felt like Seton Hall would run away with it, as time was running out, and the home crowd suddenly had sprung to life.

It was feeling more and more like the all too familiar losses in big games for DePaul.

Rather shockingly, however, DePaul suddenly roared to life in the final minutes, reasserting control and reclaiming the lead, then finding a way to hold off Seton Hall to preserve what seemed to most to be an unlikely road win against a ranked team!

What a victory for them! Also, surely, what a disappointment for Seton Hall, a team that had just managed to break into the top 25 ranking. I have nothing against Seton Hall.

For me, however, it was only the second DePaul game that I had ever attended (the first was against Seton Hall as well, back in 2013), and the first win!

What a game!

Unfortunately, it did not last too long, as DePaul lost just a few days later, to take some of the air out of their biggest win in years.

For that matter, Seton Hall lost their next game as well, dropping them out of the distinction of being a ranked team.

Still, getting the opportunity to enjoy an exciting basketball game with my son, with great seats for pretty cheap price, was pretty cool. Adding another chapter to my experiences with DePaul basketball was pretty cool, as well.

A fun night, and something that definitely seemed worth sharing here.

Below are some pictures, as well as links to articles about the game I saw. Also, at the very bottom, are video links to some old DePaul basketball games from many years ago, which I found on Youtube and looked really cool, and certainly worth sharing!

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/dal/schedule/