I may have actually found a reason to pay attention to the NCAA tournament. It's called hometown pride. Well, maybe not pride, but at least sympathy. Long Beach State is in the tourney. That's right, the local state school that tries to be cool by calling itself "the Beach", even though no one else will, is making a run for glory. My immediate thoughts are of course not of basketball or that god-awful pyramid in which they play, but of how much I miss the smell of eucalyptus on a foggy morning, Coffee Bean, Taco Surf, PCH, and relaxing walks down 2nd St.

But here is where the little devil on my shoulder steps in. On the off chance that CSULB wins its first game and advances it could very well be facing UVA. I cannot express the joy it would give me to see the 49ers crush the Cavaliers and hear the whining of every frat boy in the DC area. I believe this feeling comes in part from a love of the underdog, in part from love of California and the LBC, in part from the ambivalent feelings I hold for the Commonwealth, and largely from a sort of anti-elitism that will crop up in me from time to time. UVA likes to forget that it generally places second to Berkeley in rankings of public universities, which results in mixed emotions for me. I do like Berkeley, and feel the need to defend it, but also feel that the university messes with people's heads in a negative way. From this combination of loyalty, pride, and disgust sprouts my reaction to UVA. They equate to Berkeley in the ways I dislike, so I want them to fall. However, they present a challenge to the supremacy of my home state, so I again want them to fall. This means that Long Beach is the perfect protagonist in the meaningless little drama set up in my head. Not only is it a team from California, but it's a forgettable school that serves its local purpose admirably, but will never really warrant much in the way of national recognition. Well, unless Steven Spielberg inspires others to go back and graduate. As unlikely as it is, a 49er win would help to restore a little bit of balance to my universe, with both California and the underdog ending up on top.