Friday Flashback: December 21, 2006: An In Person Account

Welsh-Ryan Ramblings is proud to present this report from reader PRbeachCats who was in attendance as the Wildcats beat Utah on December 21, 2006.

The Best Day for the PO
By: PRbeachCats

As a ’00 alum and attorney practicing law in Puerto Rico, I had the pleasure of being in the stands for the Cats’ demolition of Utah on December 21, 2006. Three things really stand out about that game. First, the Cats made the Utes look really bad. Normally, when a team is on fire offensively it seems like the scorers cannot miss despite the best efforts or strategy employed by the defense, making even the most ridiculous of shots. However, with the PO, when it is run to perfection, it actually makes the defense look inept, unable to stop a man cutting to the hoop or a simple layup. That is the thing with the PO; when run right it makes your opponent look fundamentally inept and helpless on defense. The second thing that stood out about the game was that my dad actually agreed to come along and watch the game with me. My dad has never been much of a sports fan and does not understand the merits of rooting for the underdog when they lose more often than not. Ever the pragmatic person, he would rather root for the Yankees, Patriots, Tiger, Federer, USC or whoever has the advantage to win. This has made it a daunting task for me to convince him to be a Cats fan. However, on that day he was actually very impressed with the brand of basketball played by the Cats. I think that day was the turning point on his path to becoming a Cats fan. The third thing that stands out is that the parents of Mr. and Mrs. Coble and Vince Scott’s mom were in attendance and cheering every minute. I chatted them up for a little bit and was very impressed with their dedication to the program (traveling all the way to PR to watch their sons play). They seemed like great people and cheered for all the players, not just their own. The Cats team seemed like a great family and one that I was proud to cheer for.