As a columnist, I do my best to stay unbiased in my reporting. But hey, I'm human, so I will occasionally offer an article that shows my true colors.I breathed a gigantic sigh of relief yesterday when I saw that UCLA was up by 20 on Xavier with just a few minutes left to go in the regional final in Phoenix.
If Xavier had somehow knocked off UCLA, it would have been my worst nightmare.
Let me explain.
Xavier’s campus is about five miles from the campus of the University of Cincinnati—my team. Cincinnati Bearcats basketball is my favorite team in all of sports. Xavier is much more than a hated rival. It’s hard to explain unless you root for either one of these two schools.
When the brackets came out, I immediately knew Xavier was a lock for the Elite Eight.
I don’t know what it is about the tournament, but this team’s karma just seems to vault them to ridiculous heights. Last year, this squad nearly knocked off Greg Oden and the Ohio State Buckeyes. So as I watched UCLA struggle against Texas A&M and also against Western Kentucky’s pressure, I will admit—I was worried. I’ve witnessed too many of Xavier’s inexplicably lucky comebacks and wins.
I thought this would be the year that my worst nightmare came true: Xavier would make it to the Final Four (making all of this worse is that Cincinnati isn’t even at NIT level right now). Meanwhile, Xavier slipped past former Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins and West Virginia on Thursday by (of course) benefiting from a missed Joe Alexander free throw. Alexander later would foul out early in overtime on one of the weakest plays in basketball history, which also helped the Muskies’ cause.
I tried to avoid the game yesterday altogether, but finally I broke down and logged onto ESPN.com to check the score. When I saw the 20-point lead, I said, “Finally, your f****n' luck ran out, Xavier.”
I may sound like a hater, I may sound jealous of Xavier’s success. And hey, you’re entitled to your opinion. All I know is that my worst nightmare didn’t come true. And I’m damn happy about that.
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3 months ago
Even if Xavier eventually makes a Final Four, they'll always be a stepping stone job and we won't.
3 months ago
That's because Cincinnati isn't even a good enough job for someone to want to step on at this point. Yur team hasn't been relevant in a few years now. That's why you're writing about a team that will be making it's mark in the NCAA tournament for years to come in Xavier, while hoping against hope that someone will save your pathetic Bearcat program. Nice work Bearcat fan, the fact that you have to blog about a Xavier game in the Elite Eight further solidifies this obvious fact: Xavier is the dominant basketball program in Cincinnati, and there isn't anybody even close.
3 months ago
Man this Tim guy is really tough. And so well spoken too. What an inconsequential moron. First of all Timo, Timmy, Tim for Tat, when bulleting points it's traditional to stick "b" after "a" not a "2". You're mixing up your alphabet with your counting (both elementary school skills). Secondly, the A-10 (while not a powerhouse) is a decent conference, and apparently Xavier's a decent enough team to make tournament run. No question that the Big East is tougher (maybe the toughest) but the bearcat's don't seem up to the challenge. In small words this means, "Cats no good in Big East." Perhaps a switch to the Ivy's will suit you better. And what's wrong with getting guys to stick around for a couple years? It's added parity to the game and has resulted in some fabulous tournament play. I take this over "Sin"cinnati's commitment to academic fraud and dismal treatment of their athletes. Oh yeah, I just counted my testicles and they seem in tact, and I don't see Cincinnati as a perennial powerhouse anytime soon. So can we call you Timmy? Or tool.
3 months ago
Could you elaborate on Cincinnati's "commitment to academic fraud and dismal treatment of athletes"?
That part didn't really make any sense to me at all.
from 3 months ago
Jeff,
Cincinnati's past troubles with booster support, academic ineligibility, and scholarship loss are well documented, but most notably tied to the Huggins' years. Perhaps you're right and it's time to turn the page on all that. I can't recall them getting into much trouble lately. I guess the point is that there's nothing wrong with staying in school, as our friend Tim seems to suggest.
from 3 months ago
I hear you, Daniel. I was going to say something along the lines of UC's reputation as a thug school was formed under Huggins, and shouldn't apply to Mick Cronin. So far, so good. He's got good kids from all I can tell, and his recruiting class next year borders on top-15 nationally.
3 months ago
Yep, good point Jeff.
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