By Jared Trexler
The Phanatic Magazine
Bad things can happen when boos and strippers mix. A prime example being my best friend's tale from a Monday night Phillies victory celebration at the nearest strip joint.
Some call it harmless. Collin Finnerty, David Evans and Reade Seligmann call it life-changing.
College kids with lowered inhibitions, a few too many drinks and an aura of invincibility may have pushed the limits at a house party last year. But in legal terms, much to the chagrin of Duke's witch hunt expert Mike Nifong, the trio didn't commit a crime.
At least not the ugly one they were charged with, a four-letter word that haunts an individual for the rest of their life. Think you can land a job around women? What about finding one to marry, going to meet the parents with a story of sexual abuse in your back pocket?
Now, imagine carrying around the label of "rapist" if it wasn't true. Imagine those allegations tearing at your family's very core. Imagine it destroying the rest of your college experience, putting an end to an athletic career along with the season of lacrosse's storied program.
The healing process has now begun. And Duke is back where it belongs, at least athletically.
The Blue Devils (16-2) beat North Carolina for the third time this season in advancing to the NCAA Final Four to face Cornell.
We at The Phanatic Magazine care because the opposite side of the draw features Delaware (13-5), not known as a collegiate lacrosse juggernaut but about to step foot on its biggest stage against heavyweight Johns Hopkins.
"This is something that is all brand new to me," Blue Hens midfielder Vincent Giordano told the Philadelphia Inquirer following the 10-6 victory over Maryland-Baltimore County. "I can't believe it. This is great."
It's great for different reasons in Durham. The focus is back on sports, finally sliding away from the horror of alleged wrongdoing.
The memories remain, evident by the three charged players' numbers on the back of every Duke helmet.
If they meet in the final, both Delaware and Duke can celebrate new beginnings. The Blue Hens without much of a past, and the Blue Devils with one they'd just as soon forget.
FROM TOP OF THE WORLD TO "JOHN DOE"
Imagine being beaten so badly, your once popular face isn't recognizable. You are no longer a college basketball great, perhaps the best player to ever put on a Villanova uniform.
You are just "John Doe," without an identity and with a faint pulse keeping what has become your blank life alive.
That was the state of Howard Potter, finally identified and in grave condition following an assault in Minnesota that left the 58-year-old basketball star with severe brain damage, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.
This is a good man -- one who made mistakes, but was welcomed back into the Wildcat family as a better person. On the court, Potter helped lead Villanova to the 1971 national championship game, a run that was reportedly forfeited when rumors swirled that Potter had signed with the ABA's Pittsburgh franchise during his senior season.
Then were were drugs. A cocaine addiction that had tarnished his god-given athletic ability.
Yet, he had overcome. Now, in life-threatening condition, Potter's memory is hung in the rafters. Villanova retired his jersey in 1997, justly so considering his individual accolade as the Final Four's MVP in 1971 and season averages of 23.5 points and 14.9 rebounds per game.
He currently sits fifth (2,026) all-time in points and first (1,317) in rebounds.
Off the court, Porter beat his drug addiction then decided to help others with similar issues while working at a halfway house. He was that kind of man.
"He always came to talk to me. He's just a great, great guy," former Villanova star and current Minnesota Timberwolves guard Randy Foye told the Philadelphia News.
One thing is for certain. Even when his face was so mangled that the hospital considered him a "John Doe," Potter wasn't without an identity.
It will forever remain up in the rafters and down in the hearts of Villanova.
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