Mark Few and his best pair of Cinderella slippers have gotten the Gonzaga men's basketball team noticed by more than those who just frequent the city of Spokane. The Zags have captured the hearts of many, even those outside the Pacific Northwest. Stockton, Morrison and Dickau are names that are as familiar to students as Jack and Dan's, Litz's and Keystone Light. Year after year, the Zags sit atop the WCC standings and prepare to go to the "big dance." And because of all of this, it seems that other Gonzaga sporting ventures are lost in the shuffle.
There is little doubt that the throne the ballplayers here sit on is well deserved. But the other athletes at Gonzaga should not be simply jesters at their feet. Gonzaga sports go much deeper than the hardwood.
Not many know that 2009 American League All-Star Jason Bay is a former Zag. The outfielder led the team in almost every category in 2000, batting .388 with 15 home runs. He was then drafted by the Montreal Expos, which propelled him into the role of being an outfield powerhouse for a variety of teams in the Majors.
Brian Ching is not a basketball player either. But he made himself a career in professional sports anyway. The Gonzaga graduate plays soccer for the Houston Dynamo, as well as the United States national team. Ching has netted six goals in qualifying for the World Cup in 2006 as well as 2010. He has established a name for himself in the world of professional sports, and is a well-known soccer icon. And he can't even dunk. Imagine that.
Guru, the disk-tossing group of backwards-hats and awesome hops, is perennially one of the best Frisbee teams in the Northwest. Although it can only call itself a club, anyone who passes by Mulligan at night knows that the team boasts some pretty fine athletes. Their games are not shown on KHQ, and their stands are rarely full. But the tournaments they attend know full well what to expect when Gonzaga's club shows up. And they don't even arrive in a private jet.
Who knows what the women's soccer team's record was last season? How many sets or digs have you witnessed in Martin Centre in your Gonzaga career? Do you sometimes assume that all foreign students are on the tennis team? If the student body gave all sports even half the time that they devote to basketball, these questions would be answered pretty quickly.
And one final question. Who has enjoyed the thrill of a game in the Kennel? That should be pretty obvious.
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