Jersey City rallies with pride in celebration of Saint Peter's March Madness run
Jeanne Daly held up a plume of fake peacock feathers on the sunny, brisk day that brought out hundreds of Saint Peter's University men's basketball fans to celebrate the school's Cinderella run in the NCAA playoff tournament.
"You couldn’t stop me from being out here," Daly said in reference to what earlier had looked like approaching rain. "It’s such a glorious day for the Saint Peter’s Peacocks."
Peacock pride was on full view at a parade and rally Friday afternoon in Jersey City that drew participants from politicians to local bands.
As the team made its way north on Kennedy Boulevard toward the entrance of the school, attendees held signs with some bearing a blue Peacock image and others reading "Peacock Nation." The fervor that greeted the team was reminiscent of the cheers during its improbable advance to the Elite Eight in the tournament known as March Madness.
Sally Milad, a Jersey City resident who graduated from the school in 2002, was among alums who came out. She beamed as she spoke about the guys she saw in person at the tournament in Philadelphia last weekend, calling it a “once in a lifetime experience.”
“We’re filled with pride and excitement. Who would ever think we would make it this far?” Milad said. "Not only did we beat teams that had million dollar athletic budgets, but we have heart and grit. It’s just an exciting day for the school, the city, the country."
The Peacocks – a No. 15 seed in the tournament – became college basketball's version of David by overcoming Goliaths like Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue until they were defeated Sunday in a blowout to North Carolina.
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Daly, the Peacock plume-holding fan, said she hopes the team will stay together to continue the great play that made her a fan and make another run despite losing coach Shaheen Holloway to Seton Hall University. Holloway was introduced as the Pirates head coach on Thursday.
“Their play reminded me of what a lot of other things should be about in life – teamwork and working well with each other,” the 25-year Jersey City resident said.
After the half-hour parade, the rally began. One of the school’s most famous graduates, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, hailed the team that got the attention of his peers.
“As an alumni of Saint Peter’s, I can tell you I love going up to my colleagues in the U.S. Senate, ‘How about those Peacocks’,” Menendez said.
Holloway was fired up in addressing the crowd before introducing the team that he coached for four seasons.
"Jersey City stand up. Peacock Nation, we made history. We made history, all of us," Holloway said. "I'm not going to stand up here and be long. It's not about me, it's about these guys right here."
Junior Doug Edert, a Nutley native and former Bergen Catholic High School hoops star, who gained national attention for his stellar play during the tournament as well as for his mustache, commended his teammates and thanked the supporters during his speech.
"Make no mistake, make no mistake, nothing would have been possible without everybody here," Edert said.
Jersey City native Isiah Dasher, a senior, told the hometown crowd, "This is beautiful to see everybody together, to see the city out. It was just a couple of guys playing basketball and we didn't think we could get this far. Look at this, look at this."
Mayor Steven Fulop then gave the players, the coach and the school a key to the city. When the ceremony ended, the audience gave one more shout of "Let's Go Peacocks!"
Ricardo Kaulessar is a culture reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Region How We Live team. For unlimited access to the most important news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ricardokaul
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: March Madness 2022: St. Peter's team honored by Jersey City NJ
