Ladies and Gentlemen, the San Diego State Aztecs

The world of college basketball was introduced to the San Diego State Aztecs in this years addition of March Madness.  The Aztecs won a tournament game for the first time in school history.  They made it to the Sweet Sixteen, where they battled with college basketball royalty, the University of Connecticut Huskies, up until the final minute, before the Huskies would pull away and advance to the Elite Eight.  Although, they did not win the game, the Aztecs proved they can play among the greatest teams in college basketball. 

Coming into the 3rd round game in Anaheim, none of the experts gave San Diego State a chance.  A call here, a different bounce there, and the Aztecs might be the team playing the Arizona Wildcats with a trip to the Final Four on the line.  Unfortunately, this is not the case. 

In 1999, Steve Fisher became the head coach of a program that was basically non-existent.  The Aztecs had had one winning season in the previous 14 seasons before Fisher arrived.  In just his third year as coach, Fisher lead the team to its first Mountain West Title in school history.  This year, he lead them to its first NCAA tournament victory.  Coach Fisher, who won a National Title at Michigan, has made San Diego State basketball relevant and I doubt he will be satisfied stopping there. 

I heard a talk show radio host in San Diego say what the Aztecs were doing was "special".  I agree, it was a special year for the Aztecs, not because this was a once in a lifetime occurrence, but because it was the first of many to come.  San Diego State has arrived and they are here to stay.  San Diego should be excited of what the Aztecs did and even more excited of what they will do in the future.