I didn't attend the University of Maryland. That is not why I root for the Terps.I started watching them in late 70s as a seven or eight year old boy. My brother taught me how to keep score, keep track of fouls, etc. using my LightBright like a scoreboard as we watched games together. I went to Albert, Ernie and Buck's last game at Cole. The fire was lit.

I remember being in Pennsylvania for a wedding or a funeral and reading in the paper about how Len Bias and crew won the ACC tourney. And then I remember driving on Bel Air Road and hearing on the radio that Lenny had died.

I remember thinking that Gary Williams was gonna bring MD back.

I remember being at the Capitol Center and watching some guy named Joe Smith put Georgetown in their place and seeing on Sportscenter that Maryland had upset UMass.

I remember sitting in the Batter's Box bar in Nashville and watching in disbelief as Steve Nash beat my Terps from the ACC. And then the next year I was sitting in my truck listening on the radio before going in to a party while we lost to Charleston.

Then sometime in 1998 I was visiting Baltimore and a friend said "Did you hear? Stevie Francis is a gonna be a Terp!" and the season that followed brought such excitement but ended in such disappointment.

In 2001 and 2002 my family would drive from Florida to Tennessee on spring break. I have a wonderful wife who would search the radio to find Westwood One coverage of the tourney. I can still feel the elation of hearing the radio broadcast of MD beating Stanford to reach the Final Four. Then Chris Thomas and I shared a moment on the radio in Tampa wondering how the Terps lost to Duke.

I remember the next year getting into the hotel room just in time to see Blake hit the shot against UConn, you know the one I am talking about.

Then we won it all.

And I thought that it would be a regular occurrence, MD getting to the Final Four and competing for National Championships.

The Drew Nicholas shot.

Sunday, March 14, 2004. The Terps made Duke fans cry on my birthday.

Times weren't as great in the years that followed but in 2006 a guy arrived at College Park that would embody the spirit of what it means to be a Terp.

On cold, winter afternoon in late February of 2010, I walked onto the campus of Virginia Tech, only to find the game was delayed because a beer truck ran over a fire hydrant and a water main broke. But boy was that game worth the wait. The General did not disappoint on that evening.

When Gary retired I wondered what would happen.

Then Melo came to town and gave us hope.

But the young man with Terp blood is the one who delivered.

I remember my son saying "Come on Bruno, you can make these" as Fernando stepped to the line in Iowa.

And now two players from Baltimore have infused talent and heart into the team I still love to root for.

Today, seeing Ant and Mark hug on the sideline captured what it feels like to be a Terp fan.

It's never easy, and never quick, but it makes the fruit so much sweeter.

I love Terp basketball. And I love this year's team.

The next few weeks will probably end sooner than I would like, but this team has provided me great joy this year in the way that they play the game and never give in.

Thanks Terps, for this year and a lifetime of memories that I will always hold dear.