It’s March and you know what that means.
MADNESS, BABY!!
We survived our first encounter last weekend; the Tommies won their conference tournament on Sunday. We had to beat Gustavus on Friday, which we managed. Sunday afternoon we matched up against Bethel. In an unusual display of conference Karma, these just happened to be two of the conference teams that dealt us losses this year.
I sat amidst the Gusties during Friday night’s game. They were having a ball. The Tommies dominated the first half but lost their mojo in the second, giving away a 12 point lead. Fortunately we got our sh*t together in overtime to win by 6 or 7. The Gusties’ fans were disappointed but they sure got their money’s worth.
Less than two weeks earlier, Bethel beat us at home. We gave up a 14 pt lead, gift wrapped the game and handed it to them. They came in on Sunday determined to trounce us. It was a wild game with the lead changing hands several times, the margin getting to 10 once or twice but never for more than a possession or two. The final few minutes of the game were an amazing display of basketball smarts. For the first time in 36 years of watching, the foul-for-possession strategy actually worked! It was a two or three point game (thanks mostly to the efforts of one of our guys who started sinking 3s like a madman) with less than a minute left on the clock and both teams were in the double bonus. As often happens in that situation, fouls became the order of the day. Both teams decided to trust their ambitions to the line.
We were deadly; Bethel was not.
There’s no way to overstate the importance of free throws in championship basketball. Simply put; championship teams make their free throws.
If I live to be a hundred I’ll never forget the time our team (the Mpls Mavericks Marauders) lost a National Title because we were down by 2 with 0 time on the clock and our man at the line missed three times. And he was a great free throw shooter.
Sunday’s game was so hard fought that I didn’t even notice the clock running down as the two teams battled for the ball. When I heard the buzzer sound, I had to look at the scoreboard to assure myself we’d won. That’s the definition of a great game.
I was immediately struck by the downside of being a powerhouse. I felt no triumph, no joy; merely relief that the world was in its proper order.
My experience as a basketball wife has not been the usual. The year Jay and I were engaged, his team went 32-1, suffering their only loss in the national tournament.*
The first year we were married, he was on the staff when Jim Dutcher’s Gophers won the Big 1-0 championship.
Jay won conference titles at Jamestown and Havre.
Our teams did nothing but win at MCTC, racking up conference, state and regional titles for decades, including several trips to the National Tournament and two title games, which we lost in what I will always consider flukes.**
In short, I’ve never had to learn how to lose.
But I have learned some valuable things.
First off; there’s no such thing as a sure thing. No team is unbeatable. The best team Jay ever had (IMO) lost in the first round of the state tourney. It was 15 years ago and I still can’t believe it happened. On any given day, any team can beat any other team. That’s why we play the games. My comfort zone is 30 pts with 2 minutes to go. I’ve seen too much basketball to think a game is in the bag before that. I’ve seen a team lose a ten pt lead in the last ten seconds of play. It happens.
Second; when you’re the powerhouse, no one ever rolls over and plays dead for you. Doesn’t matter if the game means anything or not, your opponent is going to be psyched out of their minds to play you. Beating you may be the only thing that can salvage their entire season and they want it a lot more than you want to beat them. Doesn’t matter if you’re 12-0 and they’re 0-12, never, ever underestimate your opponent.
Third; while winning is always much more fun than losing, it’s like any other drug. Pretty soon you get used to it. Winning isn’t a high anymore, its just normal life. You win a championship and an hour later you’re at home wondering what you should have for dinner. No adrenaline rush, no heady feelings of triumph, just another day where things went smoothly. Losing on the other hand, is so foreign, so unexpected that when it happens you feel as stung and betrayed by the cosmos as you would if your beloved dog just bit you. Philosophically you know that the world hasn’t shifted on its axis but you still feel completely discombobulated and WTF?? It’s not disappointment; it’s disbelief.
Fancy problems, right?
I know.
It’s different when it’s not just entertainment but your life. What a lucky, lucky life we have! I try to always keep that appreciation and gratitude at the forefront. I know how fortunate we are.
And now it’s MARCH MADNESS, which for Coach People is Mardi Gras, Spring Break and New Year’s all rolled into one, month long bacchanalia of basketball.
Doesn’t matter that March is the snowiest month of the year or that we’re in the middle of Lent…it’s the best time of the year around here.
If that makes us crazy then BRING ON THE CRAZY!
*Later, the record was changed due to eligibility problems but the experience of winning all our games remains.
**A snow storm that shut the tourney down for days and those three missed free throws.