Apr 2, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski signals to his players as North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (foreground) prepares to shoot a free throw in the first half during the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball tournament Final Four semifinals at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
NCAABy Sean Keeley on

Duke Blue Devils fans and North Carolina Tar Heels fans were both hoping to be “Happier” on Sunday following the ACC rivals’ showdown in the Final Four Saturday night. But if you’re giving us “Two Points for Honesty,” the truth is that a certain laptop sticker in media row was, much like a “Satelite” in the sky, the “Center of Attention” instead.

As Mike Krzyzewski paced the elevated sidelines during his final game, viewers at home couldn’t help but notice a laptop behind him with a giant “Guster is for Lovers” sticker adorning it.

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The laptop in question belongs to CBS Sports college basketball writer Matt Norlander and, if you’ve been a college basketball fan for long enough, you know this isn’t a new phenomenon. Matt and his love for the alt-rock band Guster have been showing up on the sport’s biggest stage for some time now.

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As for where the phrase comes from, according to That Music Mag, the band coined it while “Guster crossed the Virginia state line,” and has since been adopted as their slogan and used on stickers such as the one on Norlander’s laptop.

However, tragedy almost struck this year when Norlander tweeted that Coach K’s placement was drawing undue attention to the sticker, which was turning it into a distraction during the broadcast. Our worst fears were realized, that the sticker might not make it through the evening.

However, cooler heads prevailed and a well-placed monitor helped ensure that Guster will always be for lovers during the Final Four.

After the game, Matt appeared on CBS Sports HQ to talk about the laptop sticker, which went trending on Twitter. He also explained its origins, which came from wanting to make sure it stood out in a crowd of similar laptops so that it didn’t get stolen. Mission accomplished.

It should be said that, as much as you might have appreciated the laptop, no one appreciated it more than Guster themselves.

The band even got a shout-out on ESPN where the anchors did a little wordplay around their song titles.

Consider this as good a time as any to dig into the Guster back catalog, though if you’re a white guy who went to college in the northeast in the 90s, you’re probably well-versed in all of this already.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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