Annual March Disappointment

A few months ago, mired in a losing streak as long as this winter has been, Roy Williams, head men's basketball coach at the University of North Carolina, had the audacity to compare his team's losing streak to the Haitian earthquake disaster. It was a conversation that he never expected to get outside the walls of his office, but stuff this juicy has a way of escaping like juice from a lemon in a vise. The moment it became public, he knew how bad it sounded and he made a public apology, stating that he never once thought his little predicament compared to the devastation the people of Haiti felt and will continue to feel. His apology, as trite as it came out, was true. Nevertheless, his original words felt true to his situation. To him, a man who is destined for the College Basketball Hall of Fame, this was devastation. Oh, to be so blessed.

March Madness is a three-week tour of "devastation" for many fans. There are 347 NCAAS Division 1 college basketball teams. Sixty-five of the best teams in the nation sprint at break-neck speed towards the goal of being crowned national champions. Though the odds are much greater than, say, winning the lottery, this is still a mammoth task. That said, there are some fans who are ecstatic that their team merely makes the top 65. Then there are some fans who won't be happy until their favorite guys are hoisting the trophy. Unfortunately I fall into the last group.

I am a Kansas University Jayhawks fan and I have had my heart broken by them more times than by girls, which is saying something. In 1988 the great Danny Manning and his "Miracles" barely made the tournament, grossly underachieving all year. Playing inspired ball and streaking at the right moment, they swept six games from worthy foes, two of which they lost to miserably during the regular season. I was an impressionable eighth grader the year they cut down the nets and my expectations were permanently set in stone. I am not alone on this one.

Hence, for the next twenty years I was to be regularly disappointed in March. Many of those years if they weren't the clear-cut favorite to win it all, then they were certainly considered one of a handful of teams that could do it. In 1991, under the direction of now UNC coach Roy Williams, there was their surprise run to the championship game before being knocked off by a Duke team who beat arguably the best team in the history of the game in the semi finals, the UNLV Running Rebels. Despite the loss, this only heightened expectations. The very next year they were ranked #2 overall going into the tournament before a shocking defeat in the second round. 1993 resulted in another run to the final four before being dismissed by eventual champion North Carolina.

Two years later KU was upset in the Sweet 16 by an underrated Virginia squad after being tabbed as one of the favorites once again, but this only led to greater expectations the next year. In the 1996 season, after winning the Big 8 Tournament, KU again came up short, losing to Syracuse in the Elite 8. But their All American point guard, Jaque Vaughan, and a great supporting cast including All Americans Raef LaFrentz and future NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, all decided to come back to school to finish the quest. Fielding what many considered to be the finest collection of mature athletes at the school ever, KU choked in the tournament to an Arizona team that caught fire at the right time and went on to win the tournament as a four-seed, practically unthinkable. KU was the consensus #1 almost all season. The next season, with Raef and Paul still in uniform, the #1 seeded Jayhawks were knocked off by little-known 8 seed Rhode Island, a total fluke, but consistent with the March madness moniker.

After a few off years (only winning 23, 24, and 26 games respectively) KU had another great team in 2003. Again one of the favorites, KU lost in the Final Four to eventual champion and senior-laden Maryland. So in 2004, with so many saying that this was KU's year with all their upper-classmen, they stormed into the championship game, only to lose to a Syracuse team that sported one-and-done Carmello Anthony and some dorky little point guard who couldn't miss from the three-point arc. I know his name, but I refuse to write or speak it. Anyway, it didn't help that KU choked away over 50% of its free throws that game. Coach Williams promptly bolted to UNC right after the game. Really, who could blame him?

Under the new direction of basketball genius Bill Self, KU regrouped and went after the championship with new vigor, but many hardships were to befall them. After an overtime loss in the Elite 8 that first year, KU came into the 2005 tournament as Big XII champions again, and as again one of an elite few who could win it all. They promptly lost to mighty Patriot League automatic qualifier Bucknell in the first round. That made Bucknell's century. The next year was a carbon copy, submitting Bradley for Bucknell, again in the first round. Jayhawks fans around the world were hiding their KU gear in shame. The very next year they won their conference yet again, but faltered in the Elite 8. At that point it didn't really matter who the opponent was. Quite frankly I don't remember, or care to.

In twenty years, KU had ten teams that many would consider had at least a sporting chance of winning the whole damn thing. All ten of those teams fell short of expectations, and 2008 shaped up to offer the same lamentable tune. In the championship game against Memphis, KU fell behind eight points with only a few minutes to play. Then something amazing happened; a different team choked. Memphis missed their free throws and Mario Chalmers hit a miracle three pointer at the buzzer to take the game into overtime. Breaking twenty cursed years, the boys in blue outdistanced their opponent for the National Championship! I felt like I was thirteen again! The boys went 37 wins versus 3 losses that year.

So two weeks ago, composed of some of those same ball players who contributed that fateful season, KU strolled into the NCAA tournament, Big XII Champions again and #1 overall seed with 32 wins. This had been dubbed as KU's year for the past twelve months, ever since their two great stars, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich announced they would return for a championship run. It ended five games short. KU lost to dinky University of Northern Iowa in the round of 32, leaving many disbelieving KU fans and millions of pissed off bracket participants who picked them to win it all (40% of all ESPN.com users!)

Disappointment describes it perfectly. When I look at this year's Final Four participants, 5 seed Michigan State, 5 seed Butler, 2 seed West Virginia, and 1 seed Duke, I shake my head in disbelief. This motley group of cagers supposedly represent the top four teams in the nation, foresaking great teams like Kentucky, Syracuse, and of course KU. The people who write about this topic for a living make statements like, "That's what makes this sport so special." That's a load of horse hockey. If they want to do it right, they should come up with some sort of double-elimination format. That way, when some of the teams that shouldn't lose end up hiccuping, they can play their way back into it. It would take an extra week or two to complete, but really, what sports fan says at the end of the tournament, "Man, that was a long tournament. I am glad it is over! I am sick of basketball!" Wouldn't happen.

9 times out of 10 KU easily handles Northern Iowa, Bucknell, Bradley, Rhode Island, Arizona, and Virginia. In those other years against the better competition, I'd give them a 50/50 chance, but honestly, this whole monologue is just a load of sour grapes. I waited a week after KU's "disappointing" loss to write this, hoping for some insights into the meaning of life without having to climb a mountain and soliciting an old, wise man with a beard down to the ground. I did find it tonight. What about poor old "devastated" Roy Williams' UNC team? They are still playing... in the NIT. That's cheap. They can have it.

I won't ever think of my poor misfortunes (sarcasm) as anything even remotely close to what the unfortunate people in Haiti are going through. If this is the frustration God has in store for me, I consider myself very blessed. Besides, two titles in my lifetime ain't bad.