Rooting for the Meteor
April 5th, 2008 | by The Prowler |We are down to the final three in the NCAA tournament. The final four was a classic “meteor” final four. It isn’t just that I don’t have a team to root for in the final four, but I actually despise all four teams. Since I have such strong negative feelings towards each team, the only thing left to do is root for a meteor to come from outer space and land right on the teams as they play.
I don’t like UCLA because I can’t root for Howland after using Pitt as a stepping stool (even though I readily admit that UCLA is a top 5 job and most coaches would likely do the same thing). Luckily they lost already, so I don’t have to even worry about that any more.
I don’t like Memphis for two reasons. First, John Calipari rubs me the wrong way. Every interview with him gives me the impression that he is even more of a jerk than I previously thought. Second, I get annoyed with the fact that Memphis is in a garbage conference so they get to be untested for the most part late in the season while all the other top tier teams are actually playing their hardest games. As it turns out, Memphis is actually pretty good and they aren’t just a product of a weak conference. At the same time, if they played in the Big East, they would have three or four losses for sure, even though they would still probably be in the NCAA championship game. Though not playing any good teams late in the season protects this team from the physical exhaustion of grinding out your last 10 games and it keeps them safer from injuries that often come in close, physical games.
I don’t like UNC for multiple reasons as well. I don’t like Roy Williams. I don’t know why, he just bugs me. He is so arrogant and even when he was at Kansas (and before I lived in Kansas), I just had a hard time with him. Beyond that is the fact that UNC is the media darling year in and year out. Just like in college football ESPN thinks that everyone in the country can’t wait for the Michigan/Ohio St. game; in baseball ESPN assumes that we all give a crap about the Yankees and the Red Sox; in college basketball, they act like Duke/UNC is what we all live for. They are two of the top programs in the country. They play some pretty competitive games against each other. But that doesn’t mean that I live to see them play. I could care less about Duke/UNC. That game (just like Michigan/Ohio St. and Yankees/Red Sox) is a classic meteor game. It isn’t that I hold anything against those teams because they have earned their place at the top of college basketball by being very successful. But all the attention has the effect of making me (and many others) hate both Duke and UNC.
I don’t like Kansas primarily because I moved to Kansas almost four years ago and these people out here live and breathe KU. I have to maintain my pride as a Panther, so I have to root against the Jayhawks so I can push my Panther pride.
So as you can see, I can’t support any of these teams. All of this adds up to only one alternative. Root for the meteor.
3 Responses to “Rooting for the Meteor”
By pittgirl on Apr 5, 2008 | Reply
Clever article.
I’m rooting for Memphis because it is closest to my hometown. Got nothing else to do, I guess. *shrug*
By John C on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
Ben’s a turd!
He lied regarding leaving Pitt, and he had the balls to then bring in a map of LA in and talk about his new home he was moving into, he will fold under the pressure because he is a turd!
Never liked him!
By The Prowler on Apr 10, 2008 | Reply
It is hard to not feel that way towards Ben Howland, John. I root for him to lose every game. If we had beat UCLA last year in the Sweet 16, that might have changed the perspective a bit because it would have felt like some redemption. I love Jamie Dixon, but it is hard to not feel like someone has taken advantage of us as a team when they use us as a stepping stone to something greater- even though UCLA is a great job and you can’t blame him for taking it. But it isn’t about going to UCLA when they came calling. It is more about the feeling all along that he was just waiting for something better to come along so he can go. That is one of the reasons I like Dixon so much. He doesn’t seem like he just can’t wait to leave.
But in measuring a program we like to look first at whether coaches want to come to your program or want to leave it. We shouldn’t feel as bad about losing Ben Howland as Kansas did about losing Roy Williams. Kansas actually has a more storied history including a national championship. Roy Williams took that team to great heights. But even Kansas, which might be considered a top 10 program, lost its top coach to UNC, a clear top 3 program. Maybe Ben Howland made Pitt into a top 20 program (maybe!), so to leave for UCLA actually makes sense. I still hate him for it and will root against UCLA every game they play, even against WVU.
All that said, I like Jamie Dixon and hope that he stays around a long time. I hope we don’t run him out of town for not getting past the Sweet 16, especially when Howland is taking major heat for not winning a national championship. Can you honestly imagine being mad at a coach for taking you to three straight final fours? And then Roy Williams is calling this season a disappointment because UNC is supposed to win the championship every year. That is what happens when you leave a sound program for a top program; you put yourself in the position to deal with national title hopes every single year and are considered a failure if you don’t win one. Just ask Tubby Smith.