LOUISVILLE, Ky. — This is a triumph for Villanova basketball, obviously. The Wildcats bore the majority of the load in this circumstance, the majority of the pressure and the expectation and the criticism. This Final Four belongs to them. Just not exclusively.
It belongs in some small way to Philadelphia, a city that has remained devoted to its basketball community, the Big Five, for longer than many similar towns would have bothered.
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It belongs to those who understand the appeal of football but don’t believe it is the only collegiate athletic endeavor worthy of interest and attention.