Boise gave it up for them, all 11 of them, all black, all beautiful, all wearing their Hampton uniforms with pride. For 20 minutes after Georgetown beat the Pirates, 76-57, all 11 stayed on the court, and the entire crowd at Boise State Pavilion cheered as wildly as ever.

They took laps around the court to a standing ovation. They whipped out their minicams and recorded the moment, now that Hampton basketball is worth remembering. One lady in the stands yelled, "Come back to Boise! We love you!"

And meanwhile, in the locker room, the Hampton players sat slumped and angry in defeat.

Confused about who stole the show this weekend, start to finish? It was the Hampton cheerleaders and band. The crowd loved them. Whenever the game would go to commercial, the band and the cheerleaders jumped and jived the crowd into a frenzy. Every eye was on them. The Georgetown cheerleaders were as overshadowed as Dolly Parton's feet. They never took the court, and no one cared. No one wanted them to.

Just like when you're playing at home, huh? "No," cheerleader Eunique Gray said, as her mascara ran down her face. "This is better than home."

Today, the home team lost twice. There was no question the fans in Boise fell in love with the ugly stepsisters of the NCAA tournament -- Hampton and Georgia State, both tourney virgins. When G-town's Mike Sweetney drew an iffy technical, the crowd howled for him to be tossed. "The reception that Boise gave us has been so special," Hampton coach Steve Merfeld said.

Finally, as the fans were starting to shuffle out, the cheerleaders started crying monsoons. There wasn't a dry eye around -- not even mine.

"It just took so long for us to get here," said Gray, still flummoxed. "It was so wonderful, I thought it would never end."