Shoutout to FAU! Shoutout to Boca Raton! Shoutout to South Florida!

Some are saying that Florida Atlantic University’s Alijah Martin got carried away at the end of the Owls’ second-round March Madness contest against Fairleigh Dickinson, only seconds away from the team clinching a berth into the Sweet 16. And his head coach Dusty May apologized for it too, which I don’t agree with at all, but it’s all love, coach.

If you didn’t see it, Martin attempted to put up a flashy windmill dunk after it was already certain the No. 8 Owls were going to get the 78-70 victory against No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson. Less than five seconds remained on the clock when Martin tried to dunk, and although he failed, I have to say, Martin looked beautiful in the air.

Well, when Martin attempted to put down the massive dunk, the crowd in the Nationwide Arena absolutely exploded with boos.

THE OWLS ADVANCE TO THEIR FIRST EVER SWEET 16 🦉#MarchMadness @FAUMBB pic.twitter.com/4XpxGZR8CW

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2023

This is one of the games that I was watching on YouTube TV last night during my absolutely wonderful multi-game experience, so I saw this dunk in real time. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can catch up on that here.)

Personally, I didn’t have a problem with what Alijah Martin did. In fact, I was all for it. I remember the commentators criticizing the kid and FAU’s head coach apologizing, and of course the boos raining down on Martin, but dude, they just got to the Sweet 16. And on top of that, it was the school’s first-ever appearance in that round of the tournament. Carry on, Martin. (And I love how his teammate was waving at the crowd in response to the boos)

Let’s be honest about another thing too: If Martin would have hit that dunk, everybody and their mother would have been praising him, but instead, it’s the vice-versa effect since he missed it. It’s pretty dumb when people lambast you for trying, and you only get the praise for success. Again … carry on, Martin. I was all for it.

And by the way, what a great night it was for South Florida. My Miami Hurricanes won their second round March Madness game too, so you have both region’s teams (FAU is in Boca Raton if you don’t know) in the Sweet 16, which is absolutely beautiful. And then the United States won their World Baseball Classic semifinal in Miami, and are now in the championship game in the same city. (RELATED: Team USA Completely Annihilates Cuba To Advance To World Baseball Classic Championship)

Everything was gorgeous as a loyalist to South Florida — a true dream sports night.