...is a last minute loss.
I grew up as a Kentucky fan, since my dad went to law school there, and was emotionally invested in that "Unforgettables" team that lost to Duke in the Elite Eight...I'd watched them go through probation and hooked into a team full of Kentucky kids who scrapped and fought their way to what I thought was a last minute win against Laettner and Hurley and those dudes in what was legitimately one of the greatest games I've ever seen.
The Laettner shot shattered me like nothing else ever had. I was young, and it was probably good for me, because nothing has ever hurt as much, and I've never let myself get so invested in sports. I was a student at K-State at the time, and we had fallen completely off the map in basketball, so there was nothing to latch onto there. Not until the brief glimmer of hope Anthony Beane's squad showed before we sank like a stone once again...
On a smaller scale, I survived the Pasco Fiasco...I survived Steve Woodbury draining a last second shot over Brian Henson in Bramlage when I was in school...I've survived Colorado marching down the field and hitting a deep pass to beat us late...I've survived missed layups to win regular season games and Svi taking twelve steps to the basket to "beat" us in Allen. I survived the ass-kicking in Waco that cost us a shot at a national title with Colin Klein...
In fairness, if not for being conditioned by the Laettner shot, I don't think I would have survived San Antonio 1998. I let myself believe we were headed to the National Title game in the second half of that game. We honestly were the best team in the nation in 1998. We were on our way. I remember turning to one of my college roommates on the couch in my parents' living room and saying, "We're going to the national title game."
And I remember him saying, "It's not over yet" as he popped open another Keystone Light.
I don't know what my reaction would have been if we'd lost the Xavier game in the Sweet Sixteen at the buzzer, because I have allowed myself to get sucked back in by K-State basketball since the arrival of Bob Huggins and the salvation of the program. The Butler game sort of drifted away from us late after we made a stand, and I could see that we weren't playing at the level we were capable of, so it didn't destroy me.
But I feel like I've been pulling along emotionally with this team since the junior class arrived on campus. Despite a fanbase split on their coach, they've bought into their coaches and each other, and have clawed their way to a place not many people gave them a chance to be. Unlikely heroes have emerged, and Barry Brown has emerged as a truly elite player while his classmates have fallen around him. (can you really say enough about Barry Brown this year?)
I've made the mistake of allowing myself to hope again. I don't EXPECT us to beat this Kentucky team. They're a five seed with more talent than any other team in the tournament. They're playing well, and say what you want about Calipari, he is an excellent motivator and handler of talent.
I could probably handle the game getting away from us. I'll whine about the officiating, lament what could have been, look forward to all of the potential of next year's team.
But what I'm not sure I could recover from is a hard-fought war that concludes with some kind of last minute game-winner from some future NBA lottery pick. I can't handle Kentucky pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.
So, please...let us lose a game in which we were outplayed...let us hang on for a win...let us win a blowout. Let us get smacked.
But, God, please don't let us lose a heartbreaker.
I'm getting too old for that...stuff.
-BCM
I grew up as a Kentucky fan, since my dad went to law school there, and was emotionally invested in that "Unforgettables" team that lost to Duke in the Elite Eight...I'd watched them go through probation and hooked into a team full of Kentucky kids who scrapped and fought their way to what I thought was a last minute win against Laettner and Hurley and those dudes in what was legitimately one of the greatest games I've ever seen.
The Laettner shot shattered me like nothing else ever had. I was young, and it was probably good for me, because nothing has ever hurt as much, and I've never let myself get so invested in sports. I was a student at K-State at the time, and we had fallen completely off the map in basketball, so there was nothing to latch onto there. Not until the brief glimmer of hope Anthony Beane's squad showed before we sank like a stone once again...
On a smaller scale, I survived the Pasco Fiasco...I survived Steve Woodbury draining a last second shot over Brian Henson in Bramlage when I was in school...I've survived Colorado marching down the field and hitting a deep pass to beat us late...I've survived missed layups to win regular season games and Svi taking twelve steps to the basket to "beat" us in Allen. I survived the ass-kicking in Waco that cost us a shot at a national title with Colin Klein...
In fairness, if not for being conditioned by the Laettner shot, I don't think I would have survived San Antonio 1998. I let myself believe we were headed to the National Title game in the second half of that game. We honestly were the best team in the nation in 1998. We were on our way. I remember turning to one of my college roommates on the couch in my parents' living room and saying, "We're going to the national title game."
And I remember him saying, "It's not over yet" as he popped open another Keystone Light.
I don't know what my reaction would have been if we'd lost the Xavier game in the Sweet Sixteen at the buzzer, because I have allowed myself to get sucked back in by K-State basketball since the arrival of Bob Huggins and the salvation of the program. The Butler game sort of drifted away from us late after we made a stand, and I could see that we weren't playing at the level we were capable of, so it didn't destroy me.
But I feel like I've been pulling along emotionally with this team since the junior class arrived on campus. Despite a fanbase split on their coach, they've bought into their coaches and each other, and have clawed their way to a place not many people gave them a chance to be. Unlikely heroes have emerged, and Barry Brown has emerged as a truly elite player while his classmates have fallen around him. (can you really say enough about Barry Brown this year?)
I've made the mistake of allowing myself to hope again. I don't EXPECT us to beat this Kentucky team. They're a five seed with more talent than any other team in the tournament. They're playing well, and say what you want about Calipari, he is an excellent motivator and handler of talent.
I could probably handle the game getting away from us. I'll whine about the officiating, lament what could have been, look forward to all of the potential of next year's team.
But what I'm not sure I could recover from is a hard-fought war that concludes with some kind of last minute game-winner from some future NBA lottery pick. I can't handle Kentucky pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.
So, please...let us lose a game in which we were outplayed...let us hang on for a win...let us win a blowout. Let us get smacked.
But, God, please don't let us lose a heartbreaker.
I'm getting too old for that...stuff.
-BCM
