This was another co-op work quarter for me, but let's focus instead on a factor that drew me to Georgia Tech: sports.
My postsecondary institution selection was primarily based on academics, but athletics (fandom-wise) was also a factor. During my junior year of high school, I rooted for the Yellow Jackets basketball squad (led by John Salley & Mark Price) that earned a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament (but was upset in the Sweet 16 by Final Four-bound LSU). I was eager to cheer for them in person, and experiencing the Jackets' subsequent success over five seasons in the electric atmosphere of the Thrillerdome was the out-of-classroom highlight of my college days.
During my freshman year, I was in the stands when (fellow freshman) Dennis Scott drained a game-winning 25-footer at the buzzer, visibly exasperating coach Joey Meyer of the visiting DePaul Blue Demons. The roundball pinnacle came in 1990 when the Jackets (led by the "Lethal Weapon 3" of Scott, Brian Oliver, and freshman phenom Kenny Anderson) flipped the script on LSU by defeating their Shaquille O'Neal / Chris Jackson / Stanley Roberts lineup to make a Final Four run. I (with my Dad) got to see Tech's nail-biting Sweet 16 and Elite 8 wins in the Superdome.
Tech's athletics program was strong beyond basketball as well: my matriculation overlapped with that of future World #1 golfer David Duval and future Boston Red Sox legends Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. Marco Coleman (who I didn't know personally, but lived down the hall from me) had a long NFL career and is now Georgia Tech's defensive line coach. Because I was usually in New Orleans in the Fall, I only saw a handful of football games in person, but in Fall '90 I was glued to the TV as the Jackets beat #1 Virginia on a late FG, finished the season undefeated, then blew out Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl to earn a national championship.
