Villanova University, the venerable Catholic institution in the leafy suburb of Radnor, would like a little forgiveness this week.
A secular fervor has overtaken the campus over its Final Four basketball team, evoking memories of the storied 1985 national champions and giddiness among undergraduates born well after that victory had sparked raucousness and changed lives.
Even professors were taking advantage of the fever to connect with their students, 700 of whom have tickets to the Detroit games thanks to campus lottery luck.
“I opened up my lecture today by asking who had actually acquired Final Four tickets,” management professor Peggy Chaudhry confessed. “A bunch of hands went up.”
Perhaps this is excess, but try to forgive. The team itself is striving to get over it.
“We’re celebrities right now,” said guard Corey Stokes, chuckling at the tidal wave of text messages and autograph requests – from his fellow students – that the week had brought. “It’s fun right now, but we’ve got to get the job done on Saturday.”
