We Are...Georgetown!

That was the chant heard throughout East Rutherford yesterday as Georgetown remarkably and ridiculously came back against North Carolina to win the East Regional in the NCAA tournament in overtime. They will be playing in the Final Four next weekend. I've been waiting for whole life for this moment. Seriously.

I became a Hoya fanatic because my uncle went to law school there however I missed their glory years in the mid 80's because I became a fan around '86. I remember vividly their loss in the East Regional final to Duke in 89 which is why I HATE Duke. I remember how Alonzo, Dikembe and a tat-less Allen couldn't bring them a regional championship but wouldn't you know it, the Big East player of the year this year is a Hoya named Jeff and sure enough, this was the year it happened...

If you by chance know how they got the name Hoya and why their mascot is a bulldog, pray tell. I know where I'll be next Saturday at 6:07 PM - watching G-Town vs. Ohio State. Go Hoyas!

3/28 UPDATE: long time friend and reader Phyl has enlightened me about my question above courtesey of Wikipedia. I guess I could have gone myself but how else do you engage the public? See below for the answers:

The University admits that the precise origin of the term "Hoya" is unknown. The official story is that at some point before 1920, students well-versed in the classical languages invented the Greek hoia or hoya, meaning "what" or "such", and the Latin saxa, to form "What Rocks!" Depending on who tells the story, the "rocks" either refer to the baseball team, which was nicknamed the "Stonewalls" after the Civil War, to the stalwart defense of the football team, or to the stone wall that surrounded the campus.

Georgetown's nickname is The Hoyas, but its mascot is "Jack the Bulldog." Among the earliest mascots was a terrier named Stubby, whose name is largely unfamiliar today but was perhaps the most famous dog of his generation. Stubby was discovered by a soldier at the Yale Bowl, and went on to fight in the trenches of World War I in France. He was "promoted" to Sergeant for his actions in combat and awarded a special medal by General John J. Pershing in a post-war ceremony. His owner then entered Georgetown Law School, and Stubby became part of the halftime show.