“Marquette Warriors:” Down the Memory Hole

In the novel 1984, protagonist Winston Smith had the job of revising history.

Facts that were inconvenient for the Party were scrubbed out of the historical record.

It wasn’t just that there were “reinterpreted” to serve the interests of the party. They were entirely wiped out, just as though they never happened. They were discarded down a literal “memory hole.”

It seems that in this age of political correctness, 1984 is with us. From the web page “Final Four 2007,” the following historical blurb:

The 2007 NCAA Tournament will mark the 30th anniversary of Atlanta’s first NCAA Men’s Final Four in 1977. Atlanta has a rich tradition is hosting great sports events and we are thrilled to welcome the NCAA, its fan, players and coaches back to Atlanta and to the great Georgia Dome.

A great deal has changed since 1977, when Al McGuire led the Marquette Golden Eagles to their first National Championship against North Carolina in the old Omni.

Of course (for readers who are very young) it was not the “Marquette Golden Eagles.” It was the Marquette Warriors.

This, of course, may well be the result of ignorance on the part of the person who wrote the copy, and not of political correctness. But it never would have happened had Marquette not decided to abandon a proud history as Warriors because of the political correctness of the administration.