For Patriots Fans, The Fairy Tale Has A Bittersweet End

Final Four Trip Puts School on the Map

INDIANAPOLIS, April 1 -- When the Kryptonite finally wore off, and the Patriots of George Mason University proved themselves mortal, there were a few tears streaking the green-and-gold face paint, but there was mostly gratitude.

"We couldn't ask for any more," said Ian Djuric, a sophomore from Chicago, who joined at least a thousand other die-hard student fans Saturday night at the RCA Dome in downtown Indianapolis.

In the minutes after the University of Florida's 73-58 thumping of their team, they sat slumped in their seats or milled around, stunned and drained, their first loss in a long run of wins in the fabled NCAA basketball tournament.

But they also knew that the past few weeks, as their team fought its way to the Final Four, had changed their school forever, and they had been a part of it. "It's sad, but we made it this far. Now everyone knows where George Mason is and who we are," said freshman Kiley Coleman.

At tip-off, the seats behind the basket at the north end of the arena were an undulating sea of green and gold as Mason students came to their feet. The colors were on display in what seemed to be every possible pattern and permutation: shirts, beads, bandanas, earrings, wigs, leis, headbands, turbans and at least two Speedos.

Back at home, the sights were similar: About 500 fans packed George Mason's Johnson Center, where an atrium and two stories of balcony bobbed with green and gold while the game played on several giant screens below. The fans milled about quietly after the final buzzer, their pompoms and other cheering aids either dragging behind them or discarded on the floor.

Natasha Shah, 22, a George Mason graduate who works in marketing at the Ritz-Carlton at Pentagon City and had come to the Fairfax County campus to cheer, said yesterday's loss hurt more than it would have if the team had been eliminated earlier.

Of the season's "Cinderella story," Shah said: "I guess it's midnight."

The Mason supporters had every reason to believe that Coach Jim Larranaga's rallying cry -- that Mason's opponents think they're Supermen, but that the Patriots are Kryptonite -- would once again see them through.

The evening in Indianapolis got off to a ragged start, though, and never really improved. As Mason fell behind early, 16-6, there already were hands clasped together as in prayer. "It's rough. Very rough," said Tony Coleman, a senior and Kiley Coleman's older brother, decked out in a gold wig and green corduroy sport jacket he bought (on sale) at the J. Crew in Tysons Corner, where he works part time.

The second half brought even less to cheer about, as fans endured a string of blown Mason layups and deadly three-point shooting by the Gators.

As the minutes ticked away, members of the Patriot Platoon, the hardest corps of Mason fans, tried to energize other clusters of green and gold in nearby sections.

"How are we gonna win with you guys sitting down?" one Platoon stalwart shouted to a group of slightly more decorous alums and boosters.

When a slender shaft of light broke through, and Mason cut Florida's lead to nine with about 4 1/2 minutes left, there was one last burst of passion. "KRYP-TO-NITE! KRYP-TO-NITE! KRYP-TO-NITE!"

But another Florida three-pointer threw a shroud of silence over the group.

As the seconds wound down, they rose in silence, applauded their heroes and started talking about next year.

The loss was the final blow in a trip to Indianapolis that had a number of trying moments. One of the charter buses carrying Mason students broke down en route.

Bad weather slowed the trip, and the students didn't reach their rooms at the Sheraton in suburban Indianapolis until about 3 a.m. Saturday, more than 12 hours after leaving campus.

"It was quite an adventure, to say the least," said sophomore Kate Pisano. Another student contingent opted for the more modest Motel 6, by Interstate 465 near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and about eight miles from the RCA Dome.

"The unofficial official cheap hotel" of George Mason fans, said senior Matt Helt, who helped organize the trip for about 40 hard-core followers, including members of the Patriot Platoon.

But when they arrived late Friday, they discovered that although Motel 6 left the light on, it had also doubled the agreed-upon rate, according to Helt.

The matter was resolved Saturday morning after a series of faxes between the hotel and corporate offices. A few said it still wasn't much of a bargain. "You know who the real winners are? The people who brought their own shampoo and soap," said Rosemary Shepherd, a sophomore from Charlottesville.

About 10:30 a.m., Helt began to rally the slow-starting group, knocking on doors and checking a room list.

The Mason crowd finished its pregame rituals. Sean Steege, a junior, emptied a can of green fluorescent hair spray, leaving him enveloped in a hazy residue. "Sometimes you get a little woozy," he said of the fumes. "But whatever it takes."

Matt Jacquith, a junior, met friends in the lobby sporting, under his jeans, the green Speedo he wears to every game. "You either think it's cool or you don't," Shepherd said.

And, if nothing else, more people now recognize the green as one of the colors of the Patriots. Said Jennifer Rosholt, 35, who watched the game on campus yesterday: "It's an amazing thing for this university."

Staff writer Amy Gardner contributed to this report. Turque reported from Indianapolis, and Dvorak reported from the Fairfax campus.