As Villanova led Michigan by double digits in the second half in the National Championship and was minutes away from claiming their second title in three years and third since 1985, former Wildcats' guard Josh Hart tweeted. "VILLANOVA IS A BLUE BLOOD PROGRAM"
"We’re a blue blood," Hart's former teammate Kris Jenkins added.
"Villanova is officially a blue blood," tweeted John Rothstein of CBS Sports.
"Time to refer to #Villanova as a Blue Blood," tweeted Rob Stone of Fox Sports.
Google trends for "Villanova blue blood" spiked dramatically during the second weekend of the tournament and again during the Final Four and National Championship.
But as Isaac Newton's third law says, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." And there's no exception here. Each of those proclamations was met with objections. They ranged from a simple "Never", "No" or "Wrong" to more specific, "There are 4 blue bloods. That’s it. Period. That will never change," to pure anger not appropriate for publication on this website.
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Is Villanova a blue blood college basketball program? Do they deserve mention alongside — depending who you ask — Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA as the most successful and history-laden programs in college basketball history?
I don't know and I don't care, nor should you.
“We don’t really judge ourselves on being called elite,” Jay Wright said after winning the 2018 title. “We judge ourselves on how the guys do in school, how they grow as men, how we play night in and night out. But when the media calls you a blue blood, we’re not turning it down. We’ll take it.”
Nailed it.
It's not a bad thing to be included in the same breath as a program whose first coach invented basketball or one with 20 Final Fours. Or one with seven consecutive championships or another with 12 Final Fours in the last 33 years. That's an honor.
But look at Indiana. Considered a blue blood by some, the Hoosiers have one Elite Eight since 1993. UCLA dominated four decades ago but has one title in the last 43 years. Heck, Kentucky missed the tournament altogether in both 2009 and 2013. Had Derrick Rose made a free throw, Kansas might be searching for their first title since 1988. And North Carolina was playing in the NIT eight years ago.
Villanova — and the rest of college basketball — knows what they've accomplished in the last three years. They're one of only two teams in the last two decades to win two titles in three years. They delivered the greatest shot in college basketball history two years ago, have four straight seasons with at least 32 wins and are led by a (future) Hall of Fame coach.
I don't know and don't care if they've earned a spot in a made-up club with subjective prerequisites. I do know and do care that Villanova is the best program in college basketball right now. Just enjoy the greatness.
