Tag: MarchMadness

An open letter to the broken hearted freshman at UNC..

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I was once in your position.  I know the heartbreak… I feel your pain.  Losing on a buzzer beater is the worst of all ways to lose.  You will see that shot in your mind a million times.   I once sat in a crowded dorm room and watched my beloved Orange play for the National Championship… alas our One Shining Moment was not to be.   You would think a lifetime of being a pre-2004 Red Sox fan would have prepared me for such a blow, but no.  I BELIEVED, as I’m sure you did.   In fact, I think my heart actually stopped for a few seconds. 

But I want you to know that things can get better.   It’s entirely possible that you experience your beloved team go on to multiple Final Fours and win a national championship (it’s possible you’ll cry like a baby when this occurs).  You may also see your hometown win 4 Superbowls, an NBA Championship and a Stanley Cup.  You may also watch your beloved baseball team come back from 0-3 down in the ALCS to win against their dreaded rivals who had won the World Series 26 times in the 86 you won nothing and then sweep the World Series, then go on to win 2 more World Series, including one in a year that terrorist bombed your marathon on Patriots Day of all days*.  Ok, you may never see that.  The greatest comeback in all of sports only happens once and I hope your city is never bombed on important local holidays, but my point is this:  things will get better.  You will smile again.  And your team will be back on day.  Of course, moving to Boston after graduation may help. 

 

*don’t fuck with us.  This is our fucking city. 

The Madness

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Syracuse is going to the Final Four. Repeat that a few times to savor it (if you’re a Cuse fan that is). This, my friends, is what the tournament is all about. Who would have thought the team that allowed Georgetown to crush them, holding them to 39 points, just a few weeks ago and who bounced back from that in the Big East tournament only to implode in the second half of the championship game against Louisville could come so far. The Louisville loss especially said to me that this team isn’t mentally tough, that they let things rattle them, things they then can’t recover from. Well, one way to avoid having to deal with the mentally tough issue is to not get into situations where mental toughness breaks down.
Some stats may illuminate:
61 field goals allowed
67 forced turnovers
Holding Marquette to the lowest point total in a regional final and a shooting percentage of 22.6%.
Holding all opponents to just 37.2% shooting.

Defense baby. Though it could also be that I attended my very first March Madness game, getting to see the Orange play in the 1st round in San Jose (the ho hum victory over Montana. Hey Montana: passing the ball outside because you can’t figure out how to penetrate the zone for about 33 seconds a possession then throwing up a brick isn’t really a game plan), so perhaps my fandom inspired our Cuse.

In any case, there is now a possibility if Syracuse gets passed Michigan and Louisville passed the Shockers (and wouldn’t it be shocking if they didn’t) for a Syracuse – Louisville championship game. The undercurrents are plentiful: A rematch of the Big East tournament game, a rematch between two coaches who also coached against each other in the 1987 Final Four, a match between coaches where one was once the assistant coach of the other and perhaps most importantly a fond send off for one of hoops greatest basketball leagues. This must happen, don’t you think?

What does pure joy look like?
8crxx

See you next weekend.