Jan. 16, 2009

From San Francisco to North Carolina--Return to Tobacco Road III

It is now a little over two years since I last headed to Cameron Indoor Stadium to see our Georgetown Hoyas play Duke University.  My brother, a Georgetown season ticket holder and Hoya Hoop Club member, does not understand why I am making the trip to Cameron.  There are several reasons.  With the Big East expanding to eighteen teams, it is very difficult to schedule teams from other major conferences.  I am not sure when I will be able to attend another game at Duke University, so I do not want to let this opportunity slip by.  In December 2006, we had so many fans at the game that even Dick Vitale was surprised.  I am sure that they will do everything to keep that from happening again.  Secondly, I love seeing basketball games in historic arenas like Cameron.  Lastly, I want to forget about my last trip to North Carolina for last year’s NCAA tournament.

I have been travelling quite a bit lately.  Last week I was in San Francisco doing medical site visits for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California.  I was visiting sites in Richmond, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Santa Clara.  The Kaiser centers are so much larger in California and many have their own hospitals attached.  In fact, the Santa Clara center is the largest hospital in the state of California second only to U.C.L.A.  While staying in San Francisco, I was able to reconnect with my Hoya friends Drew McGowan, and Alan Greene.  I was impressed to hear that after the Georgetown-Oregon game two years ago they took the initiative to restart the Northern California regional alumni club.  In two years they have done an amazing job.  They have a nice cozy sports bar called the Bus Stop that hosts all of their game watches.  I enjoyed spending time with them watching the Notre Dame game in spite of our loss.  I began my attempt to convert my good friend and Kaiser Optical Manager Sandra Schweitzer to being a Hoya basketball fan.  She is from Montana and a big Montana football fan, so there is no conflict there.  I also met many new friends like Roberto Lartigue (already a Facebook friend of mine), and Elain Kulm.  I was impressed to hear that on the weekends they can have well over two hundred people at their watch parties.  Later that week I attended their post New Year’s party at Amante’s in North Beach which they titled “A Night of Mayhem!”  Drew announced that they will be having a tailgate party for Jeff Green’s game between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly the Seattle Supersonics).  Last year they got to spend time with Jeff courtside during the pre-game shoot around where Jeff signed autographs.  For information you can go to: http://www.norcalhoyas.org/2008/12/mega-event-feb-21-2nd-annual-hoya.html

I want to thank everyone in the Northern California Club for their hospitality and service to Georgetown.  I was proud to buy one of their official GU Local 415 Shirts.  Just the other night I fought traffic through D.C. to get to the Syracuse game at Verizon Center.  It is always a battle with the Orange in what is the greatest rivalry in Eastern Basketball.  The Hoyas broke out of their shooting slump to deliver the knockout to the ‘Cuse 88-74.  Indeed Washington, D.C. is really buzzing with the upcoming Inauguration of Barack Obama.  While sitting at the game, I was thinking that when President Obama attends a Georgetown game at Verizon Center, it could not be any better than this Syracuse game.  Hoya Saxa!

If you are in D.C. for the weekend please come to our Duke Game Watch Party at Epicurean on campus.  The game starts at 1:30 PM.  It is on the ground level of Darnall Hall where the cafeteria used to be.  Please RSVP to Hoyas Unlimited if you are attending.  Everyone will get tickets to the women’s basketball game against Louisville at 4:00 PM.  The women are really having a great season so please go out and support them.  Let’s cheer on our Hoyas tomorrow against Duke.  The game will be a great learning experience for our young team.  It is only January now, but soon we will be getting to the month of March.  Somehow I have a feeling that John Thompson, Jr. had that in mind when he challenged the team this past week on his radio show, and encouraged them to rebound better.  We all know that the month of March is Georgetown time!  I am now packing for my road trip to North Carolina.  I look forward to my first stay at the Washington Duke Inn.  I want to thank my Georgetown Prep classmate Dan Koenig for letting me sit with him at the game.  Go Hoyas!

We are Georgetown!
Dr. Thomas A. Wong
Proud Member of Generation Ewing