PSD Reporter, John Knebels
If ever there was an actual heaven-on-earth moment, this was it.
As Kris Jenkins raised his long, strong arms to the heavens Monday night, thousands of lives changed in an instant. Villanova University had just defeated North Carolina, 77-74, in miraculous fashion, a three-point line drive taken with five tenths of a second remaining in regulation, the ball falling through the hoop with literally zero time left on the clock.
The triumphant heave – set up by a wise, unselfish pass by senior Ryan Arcidiacono – provided the Wildcats with the 2016 NCAA Division I national championship. The crowd in Houston, all dressed in blue – navy for Villanova, sky for North Carolina – had witnessed one of the most stirring sporting events in history – in any sport.
It was a moment forever frozen in time, an experience that will always be prefaced with, “Hey, where were you in 2016 when Villanova . . .”
In a lifetime, most sports fans experience one or two of them. If they’re lucky. For lifelong Philadelphians, even those well into their upper years, victories like Villanova’s have been as elusive as a Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl parade.
The Phillies gave us Tug McGraw striking out Kansas City Royal Willie Wilson in 1980 to end a 97-year World Series drought, and, 28 years later, Brad Lidge performing likewise against Tampa Bay Ray Eric Hinske, the late legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas’ famous “Swing and a misssss! Struck’em out! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of Baseballll” still running unscathed in our collective memories, no less melodic now as it was eight summers ago.
The 76ers dominated the 1983 NBA championship with a four-game-sweep over the dreaded Los Angeles Lakers, Mo Cheeks’ late slam dunk and boyish wide grin serving as the exclamation point.
Villanova freshman Joe Frio, a St. Joseph's Prep graduate, attended the game in Houston and recorded the NCAA Division I championship epic finish.
The Flyers electrified the local sports world with successive Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975, blanking the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres, respectively, forever engraving the names of Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber, and about 16 others among the tapestry of Philadelphia lore.
Wildcat Stars of the NCAA Tournament
Villanova has gifted the Delaware Valley with two NCAA titles. Both the 1985 victory over Georgetown and the 2016 upending of five-time champion North Carolina are recognized as two of the greatest college championships ever played.
Seriously – two of the greatest . . . ever. Remember, it necessitated an unfathomable 78.6 shooting for the Wildcats to beat Georgetown by a mere two points, and it required 58.3-percent marksmanship against North Carolina to survive a contest that featured 11 lead changes and 9 ties, none more surreal than when Carolina’s Marcus Paige rattled home an off-balance, three-point prayer that tied the game at 74-74 with 4.7 seconds left, inducing temporary panic in Nova Nation but ultimately setting the stage for Jenkins’ stop-and-shoot buzzer-beater.
Fan Video: Student reaction inside a St. Joseph's University dorm room
Switch the fortunes of Nova and Carolina – say that the Wildcats fail to score and then lose in overtime – and it’s not a pretty sight. While dangerous, albeit controlled, fires along Lancaster Ave. would not have occurred, and people who were injured or arrested in the inevitably irresponsible campus celebration would be a whole less anxious this morning, thousands of grief-stricken zealots would have filed out of the campus Pavilion despondently before collapsing in their beds with a gnawing sensation that can be best described as sports depression, one that would have lasted for God knows how long.
Instead, the Wildcats won. They lifted an entire city and suburbs on their broad shoulders. They invited us along for an unforgettable ride that required toppling top seeds Kansas and North Carolina, two of the most storied programs in NCAA history. They helped us believe that this was possible after toppling a great Oklahoma squad by a Final Four-record 44 points in the semifinal.
Joe Frio(above video contributor) gets Channel 6 air time while celebrating the Wildcats victory
As the Cats moved closer to history, sports-talk radio mentioned time and again how Nova was reminding teams like St. Joe’s and Temple and LaSalle and Penn that, sometimes, we are all one big, happy family.
Enjoy the moment. Let it last forever.
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com.)