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| We all have to go through it.... even you Duke. via ESPN |
The NCAA Tournament is a special thing. Anything that can happen, will happen. Every season, there's a fan base of a major program who's dreams are obliterated by some mid-major school most people have never heard of. It's fun. Hey, I love it. A lot of people who do haven't felt it first hand. There's still schools out there who haven't had to feel that bite. It's a deep bite from some creature with rabies. It makes the madness all the more maddening. This is why Kansas fans hate the tournament. It's a fickle lover. I wanted to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of these moments, and compare it to what happened to my team this year.
This is one of my first NCAA Tournament memories. I was in 8th grade... I remember nothing more than Jamal Tinsley's face after they lost. I laughed. I thought it was hilarious, mostly because it was Iowa State. I was young, and just wanted to root for the underdog. I'd say neither part of that statement has really changed to now, but man.... I can't imagine how pissed they were up in Ames that night.
2005 - Saint Louis, Missouri
I remember sitting in a hotel room in St. Louis with one of my friends. We had to miss most of the games that day on the drive in and we both had KU losing in the first round, naturally, being Mizzou fans. I think most of America shared the same enjoyment in the pandemonium as this team almost no one had ever heard of shocked all of us. I got like, six noise complaints from celebrating this. I didn't care. It was beautiful. This was my senior year in high school and also the year Pittsnogled became everyone's favorite word. I also still laugh everytime I see Wayne Simeon miss that shot.
2006 - Kansas City, Missouri
I was working in Kansas City this day at a hotel. It was slow and the only thing I had to do was watch hoops with a couple truck drivers. We were all talking about how ridiculous it'd be if GMU finished this off, but I don't think any of us thought they could beat UConn. Not a single one of us. Not even once overtime came. Hell, not until Brown missed that jumper at the end of the game did I think GMU was going to win. Probably thought the won the next day. Just ridiculous.
2008 - Highland, Kansas
I remember sitting in my dorm in Highland watching this. I had no idea who the hell Steph Curry was. This was the game that made me really get into college sports. I wasn't really into it as much as I am not until this craziness. Just watching this kid dominate... wow. No one ever feels sorry for Georgetown though.
2010 - Hays, Kansas
I swear. Every time Ali Farokhmanesh sets up to shoot that three I have a damn heart attack. This was the most intense feeling I've ever had watching an NCAA game. I'm sitting in hostile territory, in a bar in Kansas, with a Mizzou shirt on. You could hear a pin drop after this shot. I left rather quickly after that. This was the game that taught me to not have bar tabs.
2012 - Lawson, Missouri
This breaks my heart. I still haven't watched it. I've laughed and took pleasure in everyone else's March Madness. This, however, I can't enjoy. I'm now infected. It makes it hard to enjoy the other games knowing your team is one of them. Maybe next year I'll enjoy it again.... maybe I won't. Either way, it happened, and nothing can ever make it feel better.
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