Erik Rodriguez couldn’t stop smiling.
Of course, most everyone around him was, too. He was among more than 500 people who came to the University of Mary Washington’s Anderson Center on Sunday for a watch party celebrating the school making it to the NCAA Division III national championship men’s basketball game.
But the Eagles’ 75-73 win over Emory especially resonated with Erik because he played shooting guard for the team when he was a student in the early 2000s.
“That’s incredible for the school really,” the 2004 grad said after the game was over. “It’s all about the school.”
He still lives in Fredericksburg with his wife, Alicia, whom he met at UMW, and their four sons: Devin, 15; Jake, 13; Cole, 10; and Theo, 8.
He’s 44 now and works for a small government contractor.
But we talked all basketball Sunday, as Erik was sitting in Ron Rosner Arena and watching the championship game, which was shown on big screens. The contest was broadcast on ESPN+, and the former baller said he recently subscribed to the streaming service so he could watch Mary Wash’s march to Indianapolis.
Erik was with his wife and children, as well as his dad, Steve Rodriguez, and his in-laws, Eileen and Rodger Cornell, who made the trip to campus from Kinsale. The only one missing was Erik’s mom, Ylva Rodriguez, because someone had to stay home to walk the dog.
Before the game, I asked Erik if he ever thought he would see UMW have so much success on the court.
“I mean, you always hope,” he said.
He also experienced his share of success with the Eagles, especially in 2003 when the team qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time. He said he’s been texting with his old teammates recently during the championship run.
And he was in a good place Sunday to cheer on this season’s version of the Eagles. Inside the arena, fans sat in the same seats they would have for a home game. They applauded loudly, and many of them, especially the kids, banged thunder sticks together. Others participated in the school’s “Get dirty; go Wash” chant.
I’m getting over a bad cold, so I didn’t feel great going into the watch party. But the exuberance of the atmosphere was enough to make you feel better.
Fans were able to take photos with UMW mascot Sammy D. Eagle on Sunday. From left to right here are: Pia Sanchez, Matias Sanchez, Javier Sanchez, Amanda Campos, Laura Campos, Valentina Campos, and Gonzalo Campos.
It was also great to catch up with my friend Brian Cahill, who was at the party. Brian’s a UMW alum, and he played water polo while at the school as well as serving as an RA on a hall where basketball players lived.
Brian and I have watched many high school football games together because our sons were in the Massaponax marching band at the same time. But this was the first time we sat in the stands at a college basketball game.
We often talked coaching strategy at those Ponax games, but on this occasion, we were just kind of in awe at the storybook ending when Colin Mitchell made his buzzer-beating layup.
“Can it get any more dramatic than that?” Brian asked rhetorically.
Now, it’s probably important for me to admit that I was totally being a bandwagon fan here. I admit I didn’t go to any Mary Wash games this season.
I also don’t usually get super excited for other people’s alma maters, either, though I did root for Indiana University this year in football because my friend Todd went there (and of course Fred Vegas area standouts Elijah Sarratt and Aiden Fisher played there).
But I have numerous friends, coworkers and former colleagues who attended Mary Wash.
And rooting this year reminds me that this is like the region’s team. It’s the college in our center city. Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine, herself an alum, was even there for the watch party.
The celebrating on Sunday also extended outside of the Anderson Center, as car horns beeped in delight as the vehicles came down College Avenue after the game.
The only things left for me to do now are get a championship T-shirt and hope that Eagles star Kye Robinson transfers to either William & Mary, where I went, or Cornell, where my son is. Robinson announced Monday that he was entering the college athlete transfer portal.
About that shirt, I already have a plan if some nincompoop tells me the championship is OK but the competition was “still just Division III” while the biggest schools are in Division I.
I’ll say: “I don’t know. All I know is they did the best they possibly could, and they’re the national champions.”
