A couple more articles with quotes from high school sophomore Herb Pope giving a verbal commit to Pitt. Judging by his comments, it’s a tangible example of what some sustained success can do in generating interest and affection for a program.

I haven’t talked about any dance teams in a while. Some part of me has been wrestling with the karmic payback for continuing to drool over them, as I am in my mid-thirties and now have my own daughter. I feel better now. Sportsline.com has Dennis Dodd covering a couple of the basketball tournaments. In addition, he has a blog going for March. Under his March 10 entry time stamped 9:33 pm “Tigers by the Tale” (no permalinks) he writes:

My eyes are blogged over from watching the Memphis and Charlotte dance squads at halftime. Can I say, “Daddy like” without seeming creepy? There was a time as a young senior writer that I actually picked my regional based on where the Memphis dance team would appear. Really. For a while, the NCAA was importing them to dance at halftime of Final Four games. They’re that good. I digress …

Dodd is pushing 50.

Sadly, Memphis has no pictures of their dance or cheerleading squads. Louisville, more specifically, it would appear some of the members did it have sites for the dance team and cheerleaders. While the Big East has taken a hit in terms of lost quality of visiting dance teams from Miami; Louisville is a definite upgrade when compared to BC and Va. Tech. Actually, with Cinci’s cheerleaders and dance team, not to mention USF’s “Sun Dolls,” you could argue the overall quality has improved.

Just trying to go into the weekend with a positive thought.