Reflections on Victory
June 3, 2025
By
Ben Kennedy '05
IN A PLANE SOMEWHERE OVER NEW MEXICO: MARCH 21, 2025 — I vowed, one desolate Friday afternoon — after a half-court buzzer beater sunk yet another Tribe postseason — that I would be there for William & Mary's first-ever appearance in March Madness.
This year, I was home in California streaming the unlikely CAA title game when our wi-fi died. All I could do was refresh my phone. With Daddy distracted, my daughter scattered her toys all over the floor. Refresh. It was supposed to be naptime. Refresh. I saw 66-63 4Q 0:00. Refresh. Was today finally the day? Refresh. Why wasn’t it final? Refresh. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?
Tribe women’s basketball happened. Bella Buckets happened. That Just Happened. (And yes, naptime happened.) So I was off to Texas.
In Austin, we few were legion. We crowded the team hotel’s lobby with cheering for this, yes, a play-in game. The Pep Band played the team bus off with the alma mater, then the fight song; were those tears in my eyes? And in the hot-pink basement bar of the hotel, I took the opportunity to buy President Rowe a drink and learned that she has a discerning palate when it comes to her mocktails.
Plus we won.
The big power conferences expect nights like this; to waltz their way to the Final Four. They might even steamroll a No. 16 seed like us along the way: That’s how it usually goes. But if everything shy of a national title is failure, recalibrate how you enjoy sports. Those fans will never feel as good as we all did that night in Texas. A play-in game can feel like the Super Bowl.
Anyone in Austin will notice this, between the taco trucks and microbreweries: a hand signal that, for Texas fans, means "Hook ’em, Horns." But if you stick out your thumb, you’ll make the Tribe pride signal this W&M team has been using all season. Coach Erin Dickerson Davis, aka “Coach E,” reminded me that if you flip it around, it means "I love you." That’s this team, and this school. Community, dedication and love. And in our loud corner of the University of Texas’ Moody Center, I experienced all three. No hooks necessary.