Over the past week and a half, there has been a lot of talk around UCF about ‘Dunk City’, or Fort Myers, Florida, home to the FGCU Eagles. The reason for this is because Florida Gulf Coast University men’s basketball team is the first 15-seeded team to advance to the Sweet Sixteen NCAA basketball tournament. The school has attracted national attention, as it only became eligible for postseason play last year and had its second NCAA tournament upset of the weekend (their opening win over second-seeded Georgetown, and defeat of seventh-seeded San Diego State on Sunday night.) Now the next opponent for the school will be with the third-seeded Florida Gators on Friday night in the South Regional semifinal in Dallas at 9:57 pm.
The term ‘Dunk City’ was coined by famous ESPN analyst Dick Vitale because of the multiple highlight reel dunks in FGCU’s two victories in the tournament thus far. Fort Myers even put #DunkCity title on its official website in honor of the school.
Support for the eagles has been manifesting all over UCF campus with students wearing FGCU colors in support of the new team.
Kenny Morales, a senior studying Radio/TV here at UCF is from Fort Myers (Dunk City) and was wearing FGCU’s colors around campus to show his support of the upcoming game. “It’s awesome for us locals from Fort Myers because now, we have a local team to cheer for back at home. FGCU’s sports teams haven’t really been relevant, but now that they are in the sweet 16, they are not only making history and national headlines, but are putting FGCU on map for future students and applicants!”
Jillian Werlink, a senior studying engineering, agreed, “I’m not even from Fort Myers, or ‘Dunk City’ but everyone loves an underdog. I would love to see them win against UF, a veteran team. I can’t wait to see the outcome, it’s going to be a fun game!”
One of the reasons fans have been drawn to FGCU from across the nation and globally is their spirit and ability to have fun.
“We don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield said, “we try to have fun, get serious when we have to. Our goal was to make history and we did it.”
According to ESPN, in a poll of 100,876 votes, 48 states or 56% of the voters want to see the FGCU Eagles win in the South Region.
Christie Lewis, a junior studying psychology said, “although Florida is in my bracket, I heard about all of the news FGCU has been making, and definitely cant wait to watch them play each other on Friday. I would be happy to see either of them win since they are both Florida schools!”
Catch the game Friday at 9:57 pm yourself to watch the outcome, and the possible making of history!
#DunkCity on Fort Myers website: http://www.cityftmyers.com
Dunk City YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MWGx0x25yo