It’s time to stop calling Loyola a Cinderella
By Josh Hill
As much fun as Sister Jean has been, the Loyola players deserve more respect than simply being a Cinderella.
March Madness is built for us to root for the underdog. But what happens when we watch an underdog mature into a legitimate national champion right before our eyes? Loyola-Chicago has performed basketball metamorphosis in March; past tense because it’s already happened.
This isn’t a story where the transformation is yet to happen — Loyola-Chicago dropped it’s underdog tag when it blew the doors off No. 9 Kansas State to punch a ticket the Final Four.
At one point, the Ramblers were up by 21-points against supposedly one of the best defensive teams in the tournament. That’s not a Cinderella team. Loyola is a Cinderella if she had refused the glass slipper and told the prince to bring back Manolo Blahnik’s. They’re a damn good team and it’s high time we put some respect on them as such.
Loyola is a Cinderella if she had refused the glass slipper and told the prince to bring back Manolo Blahnik’s. They’re just a damn good team…
You can easily chart the transformation of Loyola from an underdog to the legit threat they are now. The first-round game against Miami needed a buzzer beater to win, but not the next two consecutive games. Against Tennessee, Loyola forced the Volunteers to need a buzzer beater to win; Nevada was daggered with a ‘game-winning shot’ that saw plenty of time left on the clock.
Against Kansas State, the Ramblers exploited one of the tournaments best defensive teams and never once let Bruce Webber’s team get close. Romanticize viral mascots like Sister Jean all you want, not a whole lot happens by chance this late in March. What Loyola has done is the summation of Porter Moser’s work building the program up from the dirt over the last five years. Moser did what two other big programs around Chicago have failed to do: mine the city’s basketball gold. While DePaul (located near downtown) and Illinois (located south but with a flashy Power Five badge) are struggling to make March Madness runs, Loyola has made itself an attractive school for some of the city’s best young basketball players to consider. They’re still not on the recruiting level as a Duke or Kansas, but Loyola has currency to become a major force in the years to come.
Everything about this run was earned, from the berth of the bid to the win against Kansas State on Sunday. Moser built a team that belongs in the Final Four.
Next: 12 Biggest Cinderellas In March Madness History
To call anyone associated with this Loyola run — from Sister Jean to the players — a Cinderella would force us to redefine what such a thing is. The Loyola Ramblers are one of the best college basketball teams in the country. Instead of arguing that point, we should collectively appreciate that we watched them develop right in front of our eyes.