The Rams Tighten Their Hold On the Belt

Eric Maynor was never a fight fan growing up. Not even close.

"I just liked to see Mike Tyson knock people out," VCU's star guard told me this week. "That was it. I never got into boxing."

But he's looked perfectly at ease wearing his team's championship belt in recent weeks. He wore it after the Rams clinched the Colonial Athletic Association's regular season title, and again after they beat George Mason in the tournament final. He wore it while cutting down the net, and he wore it while hoisting the league trophy. The belt was passed around the floor of Siegel Center, from one teammate to another, who all slipped it around their waists.

"Everybody put it on," Maynor said. "Everybody look good in it. You put it on, and everybody look good in it."

VCU Coach Anthony Grant first busted out the belt the night before Maynor and mates were playing for the regular season crown. The coach, Maynor told me, was wearing two shirts at the time. "This," he told the players as he slowly took off the top shirt, "is what we're gonna win tomorrow."

"Everybody looking at him like, 'Uh oh.' " Maynor remembered. "I never had a coach put a belt on before. . . . First time for everything."

Since then, the belt has had several homes. It spent some time in the basketball office. It even spent some time in Maynor's apartment, where it rested on his counter and on his dresser. Typical dorm room chic. Grant, you'll recall, was the same guy who had the Rams carrying around that chain during their tournament run two years ago, but Maynor didn't see any similarity.

"I think it's two different things, man," Maynor said. "The belt was more what we did together. The chain had a link to each one of us, everybody doing their role."

Either way, not too many basketball teams pass around title belts, even belts emblazoned with words like "WIN" and "CHAMPION." So there could only be one destination for the Rams and their title belt: Philadelphia, home of Rocky, where they'll face UCLA, home of the "Champions Made Here" slogan.

"They got more than championship belts," Maynor said. "They won national championships. That speaks for itself."

Anyhow, I asked Maynor whether the title belt would be accompanying the Rams to Philadelphia, and who would be minding it during the trip. He wasn't completely sure, and seemed less curious than I was.

"It's not gonna be sitting with us on the bench or something like that," he said.