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Who's Ready For Some Florida Gulf Coast Fun Tonight?

How great is this story? Florida Gulf Coast University became the first 15 seed to ever make it past the opening weekend of the tournament into the Sweet Sixteen, knocking off powerhouse Georgetown in the process.

The little-known Eagles made NCAA tournament history Sunday night, becoming the first 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16 — and they did it in style with a convincing 81-71 win over No. 7 San Diego State that had the Wells Fargo Center partying.

Just incredible. These are the types of Cinderella stories that cross all political lines and inspire people to root for underdogs. It's practically an American tradition. We love it. Can't get enough. There's no "Red America" or "Blue America" when something like this happens. If you're not a University of Florida fan (who they play tonight), you've just got to be pulling for this good group of guys, rocketed out of small school obscurity and thrust upon the national stage. I mean, you'd really be hard-pressed to find some joyless, perpetually bitter clods eager to tear apart this joyride.

Oh.

Think Progress: A Cinderella Story? How The Koch Brothers Use Florida Gulf Coast University To Promote Their Agenda

But there’s something you might not know about FGCU: its economics department is, as a consequence of grants from Randian businessman John Allison and the Charles G. Koch Foundation, a haven for Ayn-Rand Style thinking.

Oh, for fuck's sake. Well listen, it's just Think Progress. Let's not paint the entire left with this same broad brush, right?

Oh.

Mother Jones: The Dark Side of Florida Gulf Coast University, March Madness Sweetheart
The university trampled over Florida panther habitat at the behest of a Big Ag benefactor. Cinderella who?

The less inspiring story, however, is how FGCU rose up out of the swamp. To put it bluntly: The school paved over it, using government connections to pressure the US Fish and Wildlife Service into green-lighting the development and in the process wiping out one of the last vital habitat areas of the severely endangered Florida panther. FGCU's is a particularly extreme version of a familiar story. For a century, South Florida developers have stared down all comers—and methodically reshaped the environment in the process.

Screw it, I'm out.

The game starts at 9:57 ET tonight. Progressive humorless bitchiness started long ago and will last until the sun cools.