Met the Austin Marquette Alumni Club

Call me unpatriotic but in my four years at Marquette, I never attended one basketball game. It was probably for the better since I was there for all three seasons of the awful Bob Dukiet. I didn’t find Kevin O’Neil much better, he had an air of jerkhole about him and he was only there until something better came along.

The bigger reason why I never showed much support for the Warriors (they will never be the Golden Eagles) was due to the interactions I had with the players during my freshman year. Shortly after settling in at McCormick Hall, I stupidly took a part-time job at the dorm’s cafeteria which subjected me to the incessant bitching of floormates. (As if I had any control of the menu or power to give them extra steaks.) It was worse when then basketball players ate. When McCormick’s dining area/kitchen closed for the 700 residents, a separate menu was prepared for the team and served while they strolled in from their daily practice.

The team usually received something better which was expected, it’s pretty hard to make desirable, unprocessed food in bulk (I learned to eat at the smaller dorms). It didn’t matter, these 15 assholes complained as if they were entitled to Spago every night. Plus the messes they left. It’s pretty easy to see why I resented them. I paid to attend Marquette, those morons didn’t so I wasn’t their servants. Then again, I graduated, gained gainful employment; I wouldn’t be surprised to find half of them living under a bridge.

The team’s collective low IQ demonstrated itself again the following year in my Theater Appreciation class. It had three of those brain-dead jocks present and one day, never-was Joe Nethen (sic) asked if he could copy off my quiz. I recall giving him a profanity-laced answer. I doubt it would’ve helped. Rumor has it, he washed out (probably got into legal troubles that the university couldn’t cover up) and was spotted around Milwaukee working for a moving company.

You can accuse me of being bitter all you want but Marquette’s players were bunch of spoiled morons who didn’t know that they were pseudo-public figures. Therefore, how they behaved off the court was more important than what they did in a game. I can only hope the current coach Buzz Williams drills this into his players’ heads. Based upon the quick bio I found of him…probably not. Williams’ resume has a string of other institutions I wouldn’t hold my breath on for integrity. He’s a good fit for Marquette, the creeps in charge are hellbent on winning another title, not educating people.

Anyway, some years ago I signed up to be notified of other alumni-gathering things around Austin. I can’t remember if it was through the university’s site or whatever. I probably did it hoping I would run into Sheila, meet her spouse and kids. It was a failure thanks to the kiss off I received on my 40th birthday. Still the e-mails would appear from time to time. These gatherings were always on a Saturday too. Until I was promoted to Senior Specialist, my shift was Tuesday through Saturday and these shindigs would be over before I got out around 5 PM.

Last year, the coordinator’s wife had a baby which prevented much from happening. This explains why I didn’t manage to try in 2010. I myself was wondering about it too.

When I received the e-mail last week, I thought, I’ll give it a shot. Besides, the gathering is at D&B. If it blows, I can play some games, politely leave.

Thankfully the people were pretty nice, I guess it’s something with those who attended in the Eighties which raised their douchebag factor. (I was the second oldest alumnus present. I never did meet the retired-looking dude.) We talked, exchanged pleasantries, what we did for a living, when we attended of course (many graduates from the Aughts) and why we’re far from “home.” Marquette managed to defeat Wisconsin too. The Warriors (again, not Golden Eagles) almost blew their 10-point lead yet the coach wisely called timeout to stop the Badgers’ momentum and told the players to pull their collective heads out of their asses, relax, keeping working the ball in the paint for rebounding opportunities. Either way, if Marquette lost, my degree would remain valid.

I hope to meet these people again. They seem nice. I have given the coordinator guy the suggestion of having us all gather around February for an upcoming Stars v. Admirals game. Why not, the Admirals are from Milwaukee like us.