On Tuesday morning
following the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game, the front page of The Wisconsin State Journal carried the
headline: Out-Duked. The
Herald Sun in Durham boasted: Devils
Take 5.
The Badgers were thought to be the team with more momentum
going into the game having defeated the perfect 38-0 star-laden Kentucky
Wildcats. I listened to countless sports
analysts like Jim Nantz, Greg Gumbel, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Clark
Kellogg and Ernie Johnson, Jr. prattle on and on about their “predictions” for
a Wisconsin win over Duke.
I understand, believe me I do, that there is widespread
dislike for Duke. There will always be
haters. In
an open thread at Ace of Spades, Y-Not wrote before the semifinal games last
Saturday night, “True Americans will be rooting for the Spartans and the
Badgers. Just sayin’.”
Die-hard Badger fan
and blogger friend Steve, proprietor of Grandpa John blog, was nothing but a
class act before and after the big game between the two schools. He offered a correction
to my brackets saying, “Sorry in advance for my Wisconsin drubbing North
Carolina.” Of course, he was right. I had picked the Tarheels of North Carolina
to advance to the Final Four against the Badgers. When they lost I began rooting for Wisconsin
because I, like so many others, dislike Kentucky (the second-most hated
basketball team in America).
Monday afternoon,
well before tipoff, Steve posted a comment asking, “Whatcha doin’ this
evening? It oughta be good, both teams
are HOT!” On Tuesday after Duke’s
spectacular victory Steve wrote, “Congratulations! Duke did a great job.
(Whimper, whimper.)”
This year’s tournament was filled with
upsets and heroes and some of the
most unforgettable moments I’ve ever witnessed.
It was heartbreaking to watch the hurt the Badgers felt when they
lost. One photograph told the story most
poignantly. It depicted all five
Wisconsin players leaving the court with their hands on their heads in
disbelief, confetti falling all around them, realizing their historic run in
the tourney was over.
At the same time, Duke fans were
euphoric. I was among them. I wanted to post an article here right after
the game, but decided against it. It
would have sounded like bragging. I didn’t
want to do that. Instead, I’ve waited a
few days so that I might congratulate Wisconsin on a courageous game—a game
that was hard-fought, physical, emotional and charged with electricity. The basketball world may have wanted a
Duke-Kentucky championship game, but what they got was a magnificent game
played with tremendous heart.
Who knew the headband message “De5tiny”
(the piece of tape the Blue Devil mascot wears across its forehead) would come
true?
Nike Basketball tweeted this inspiring
message:
By now the tears have
dried for Kaminsky, Dekker, Koenig, Hayes, Gasser, Showalter, Jackson and Dukan. It’ll be hard to put aside the
disappointment, but years from now they will have a story to tell of how they won
more games than any other in their program history. It was a remarkable journey that was 74 years
in the making. They should be
proud. They were a formidable opponent. It was “One
Shining Moment.”
