It's always an exciting time when I get to introduce a new writer to the Streaking the Lawn family here. But to be honest, I'm not entirely thrilled about this one. No longer can people say "Brian wrote on STL that..." and others will know exactly who you're talking about, because we now have two Brians on staff here. Still, I suppose I should be excited to announce our newest writer, Brian Schwartz!
Brian (not me) is currently a third year at UVa, double majoring in economics and math. He's from New York and considers coming down to Virginia for college the best decision he's ever made. He's also the president of a student organization called Peanuts and Crackerjacks, a mentoring group that works with Charlottesville elementary schoolers. They go to their after-school programs and tutor them once a week, and their year is highlighted by trips to Virginia baseball games. Pretty cool stuff.
His time as a UVa fan has been short -- he had no Wahoo connection as a kid in New York, and didn't start getting into the Cavaliers until his senior year of high school, where he felt obliged to root for the Hoos over the Hokies just in case he ended up at Virginia. Like any true UVa fan though, he knew he was a die hard Wahoo when his first in-person UVa sporting event was the 52-7 drubbing at the hands of Mark Sanchez's USC Trojans.
In addition to adding analysis and commentary, Brian will primarily be leading a new feature we've been meaning to have here on Streaking the Lawn called the Rotunda Roundup. He'll scour the web for all the very best articles to give you additional insight and analysis on everyone's favorite hometown team and compile them in one nice, neat package every day (or at least, every other day during the off-seasons).
Read more about Brian's most memorable UVa sports moments so far, after the jump.
Here's what Brian had to say about his favorite sports memory so far.
Tough call, but I am going to go with our 16-13 OT win over UNC my first year. Great game, we rushed the field, and even took the celebration to O-Hill Dining Hall afterwards. Also, it was probably the peak of our football team's relevance during my time here, as the win took us just outside the top 25 (I think we beat GT the following week before losing a heartbreaker to UM in overtime).
Runner-ups: Last year's soccer national championship (nothing is more important than winning national championships), 2010 baseball's run to Omaha, our win vs. Tech at JPJ this season, completing the season sweep.
And his least favorite?
Sadly, there is also lots of competition for this one. The first thing that popped into my head is the Arkansas loss in the CWS, but I felt we were playing with house money at that point and probably wasn't as devastated as I was on some particularly disappointing walks out of Scott Stadium and JPJ.
So I am going to go with our Miami ACC tourney loss this year. I am not going to elaborate any more, as it is too painful.
Brian is placing all his eggs in the Tony Bennett basket. If you ask him which program he's got the greatest faith in, he'll tell you, "In Tony Bennett I Trust," adding that he believes Bennett can do no wrong.
And finally, a little pick'em action:
- Lil' Hoo or Cavadonkey? Which one is less aversive to me? I'll take Lil 'Hoo I guess - it's awful, but I've never liked "Cavadonkey"
- Foxfields or Foxfield? Pretty indifferent, I haven't been yet. That said, pretty sure it's Foxfield.
- Sean Singletary's fadeaway buzzer beater vs. Duke, or Will Roberts' perfect game? Singletary. I think the perfect game is the greatest individual accomplishment in sports and am obviously in awe of Will's feat. That said, I have gotten chills watching that shot on Youtube so many times, it would be absurd not to pick it.
- "Guys in Ties, Girls in Pearls" or Sea of Orange? Sea of Orange.
- UVA football makes a BCS Bowl, or UVA Basketball reaches the Final Four? UVA football makes a BCS Bowl. A Final Four run requires putting together 4 wins in a row. A BCS bowl run requires much more sustained success and likely an ACC championship with it
- Littlejohn's or White Spot? Littlejohn's, usually a Reuben or an Onion Wheel
- Old Dorms or New Dorms? New Dorms, suite-style is the way to go. Maupin will be torn down in a matter of weeks, very sad to see it go.
And with that, there you have it! Welcome to the newest member of the Streaking the Lawn family here, Brian Schwartz! You can catch Brian on the Twitters at @247465room7.