March 31, 2006
You may have seen him with his blue wig and cape in the front row at the MCI Center, arms waving in the air for the men's basketball team, or in McDonough Arena, leading the students in a cheer for the women's basketball team. He's hard to miss. He bleeds Hoya Blue.
Mark Murphy's devotion to the Hoyas, displayed in his game-day outfit, yelling, dancing, and jumping around has finally been noticed beyond the Hilltop. "Murph" is a finalist for ESPN.com's Mr. Bracket Contest.
ESPN.com's Page 2 is sponsoring the cross country search for "Mr. and Miss Bracket 2006." Page 2 began looking for the ultimate die-hard college basketball fan during March Madness to display the embodiment of NCAA pride and school spirit.
After advancing to the semifinals of the contest, ESPN asked the remaining contestants to provide videos of them singing their school fight songs. With a camera rented from Lauinger in hand, Murph and a friend set out to make the film. With a general idea of places they wanted to include, they set off to show ESPN.com readers Georgetown University and Washington, DC. Murph's video includes campus highlights the John Carroll statue, Gaston Hall, and McDonough Arena as well as national landmarks such as the White House and the Capitol.
In Murph, ESPN.com has found a contestant who wears his school spirit on the inside and out. On the outside, Murph is the kid with the cape. For his freshman year, he left the costumes at home in Gettysburg, Pa. while feeling things out. In high school, his mom had made him a black and gold cape as he cheered on the Squires at Delone Catholic. When Murph started to bleed Hoya Blue, his mom was ready to make the blue and gray cape necessary to complete her son's outfit and school spirit. In addition to the costume, Murph displays his school pride with his official Hoya Blue duties: Yell Captain Leader. He coordinates chants with the cheerleaders, places the megaphones in the correct places, and most of all makes sure the Georgetown students are ready to yell and cheer their Hoyas to victory.
Behind that the wig and cape is a Georgetown senior who has a deep love for his university. The cheering and rooting is his way to thank "the greatest university in the world." Murph says he "did not enter this contest to get a prize or individual attention; I just wanted to show some Georgetown spirit." This contest isn't about him, but about all the Hoya students, fans, and alumni who bleed Hoya Blue.
Show your Georgetown spirit, vote for Murph here.
