Now I can’t find where Gonzo went to school, but I’m going to assume it was in the Big 5 and definitely not Villanova if he’s pulling out the “Nova isn’t a Philly school” card to rile up the masses:

As a Temple alum, there’s nothing Temple alumni love more than reminding Villanova they aren’t a Philly school. Counterpoint: With all the dangerous shit going on around Temple’s campus recently, Villanova should be happy they aren’t a Philly school. That’s a discussion for another time…

With every Villanova run, the city gets behind the Wildcats. I would say it’s more older white dudes from the suburbs that don’t have an allegiance to a college basketball school, and are too weak not to succumb to Philly pride. Kind of like your Irish uncle in the Northeast who roots for Notre Dame. Guy can’t spell Zbikowski, but dammit if that Leprechaun on his left calf doesn’t pop in some jorts.

Here’s the thing –

The city would get behind any team that made a run. Everyone was rabid for St. Joes during their run to the Elite Eight in 2004. But the reason the city loves Nova is because Nova has been the only thing consistent since the early 2000s. Hell, if Lehigh was consistently dominant in the tournament we’d see men, women, and children dressed in plenty of poop brown.

I think the reason people hate Villanova is because they perceive the Main Line to give off this type of snarky elitism. I thought Kevin made a good point about that:

The real reason people hate Villanova is because at the end of the day, people just love to hate. Just like a lot of people love to hate Penn State football. Hell, the most universally-enjoyed thing in Philly sports history was the Super Bowl and two years ago there were actually people asking if you’d give it back for 10 years of good Eagles teams.

Find your ‘why.’

My “why I hate Villanova” is because they don’t respect the Big 5 and they blocked Temple from becoming an all-sports addition to the Big East rather than just football. Then Big East football falls apart a year later and it sends the program into a tailspin until the AAC started, and now the Big 12 is poaching all the good teams and we’re left playing North Texas and the Charlotte 49ers in a couple years. That’s my ‘why.’

So is Villanova a Philly school? No? Yes? Who cares? Probably ‘who cares.’ Jay Wright sure doesn’t when he’s about to hang another Final Four banner in the Pavilion by midnight Saturday.