Zags players from 2000 will relive long-forgotten underdog status with cheeky ‘Cinderella’ towels
It was a different kind of Cinderella story for the turn-of-the-millennium Gonzaga Bulldog men’s basketball team.
After shocking the basketball world by advancing to the Elite Eight in 1999, the Zags were written off, ironically, as a one and done. The 2000 squad was declared a Cinderella team, but that fairy tale fit as well as a glass slipper that’s two sizes too small.
Gonzaga alum Al Dernbach printed shirts that read “Cinderella My Ass” just before the Bulldogs played in the 2000 tournament. The enterprising Dernbach was wise enough to ask the Zags’ larger-than-life play-by-play announcer Eric “Big Ed” Edelstein to sell the non-sanctioned shirts on the sly.
“Al Dernbach printed up the shirts with the message being ‘Gonzaga is here to stay,’ ” Edelstein said while calling from Los Angeles. “I sold them at the tournament for $20 each. I loved doing it, since it supported Gonzaga.”
Former Gonzaga guard and Edelstein’s old roommate Matt Santangelo has revived the slogan for a “Cinderella My Ass” towel that will be part of Friday’s Northwest Passages event at the Myrtle Woldson Center-Coughlin Theater honoring the 25th anniversary of the Elite Eight squad.
“I got incredibly fired up when I found out that Matt was doing the towels,” Edelstein said. “It’ll help people remember a crazy time.”
Santangelo, who moved back to Spokane 16 years ago after his European basketball career ended, laughed when reminiscing about the “Cinderella My Ass” rallying cry.
“It was a crazy time,” the 46-year-old said. “We just really enjoyed each other’s company, but we wanted to be taken seriously. We also wanted a good program here and for it to be a good program for years, and it has been. I couldn’t be prouder of the program. I’m just glad Friday night isn’t all about us. I’m so glad the 1990 team will be recognized and the 1994 team will be part of this, since it’s their 30th anniversary. We looked up to that 1994 team.”
The program will start with the ’90 team.
“That team sacrificed by redshirting six players,” Edelstein said. “They took their lumps that season and finished 8-20. That team had Jim McPhee, who is one of the greatest Gonzaga players ever. It was a Jesuit approach to sacrifice for the greater good. Those six guys were part of the ’94 team that beat Stanford.”
The last half of the event will focus on the ’99 team, which was comprised of some of the wildest personalities to have played for Gonzaga.
“It was the funniest group of characters I’ve ever been around,” Edlestein said. “The team was made of very interesting guys, who happened to play basketball.”
Mike Nilson and Ryan Floyd played for Gonzaga, and were also Edelstein’s roommates. During Edelstein’s first two years as the play-by-play announcer, the future actor and voice-over artist would toss inside jokes into his work to amuse his roommates.
“I could get away with that then, since the only people watching the broadcast were my Aunt Lillian’s nursing home and those too drunk to go to the games. But then the games started selling out and I had to get serious.”
Edelstein, who will emcee Friday’s event, is looking forward to reconnecting with his friends from the ‘99 team, who will be together for the first time in 15 years.
“It’s going to be special,” Edelstein said. “I just have to make sure I get there.”
Nilson will make sure Edelstein arrives, since he’s picking up his old pal at the airport.
“I can’t wait,” Nilson said. “None of us have changed. Ryan will talk trash. Matt will be super competitive and Big Ed will just be hilarious. You know him. When you meet him, you just love the guy. We can’t wait to go back to those glory days with everyone including Axel (Dench), who will be coming in from Australia, and Quentin (Hall) will be coming in from the Bahamas. We’ll be going down memory lane.”
The address of memory lane for Edelstein and his roommates is 723 Sharp.
“We had a house there where everyone would stop by,” Edelstein said. “We would have recruits over. They would be treated to a Mike Nilson concert. It wasn’t about beer or women at that house. It was about ball.”
Why not check out the old gang’s digs?
“I think we should knock on the door and see if they’re home,” Edelstein said. “I think going back to 723 Sharp is a great idea. If we don’t do it, we’ll still be together at the reunion, so it’ll be good no matter what.”