The Agony of the Sports Fan

Oh, the pain I felt last night as West Virginia allowed Texas to win the basketball game. I tried to turn away...I knew it was going to happen but I couldn't stop myself. I believed for a moment that the upset was going to occur...I believed the WVU was going to be the #2 team in the nation. I dreamed it possible and my dreams were crushed.

Firstly, going into the game against Texas I wanted one simple thing: be respectable. I was afraid I'd see a 100-47 blowout or some ridiculous thing like that. Texas is extremely good...and the jury is still out on West Virginia. But as WVU led most of the game, my hopes rose. A respectable game was no longer enough...I could see victory in the final minutes and that was the only thing acceptable. And it would have come to pass had Pittsnogle only been able to make some free throws. Two opportunities...two misses. Everyone knew what was going to happen after the second missed opportunity...there were no doubts. It was written the WVU would bow...and they did. Regardless of whether Gansey was fouled or not, WVU blew their chances at certain victory when Kevin couldn't hit a single free throw. 84+% from the foul line last year...0% for the Texas game.

Still, a great game in front of a national audience. One solitary point from another classic game...reminiscent of the Wake game last year. A clearly overmatched WVU coming up big...and I felt good about this: We didn't just hit the 3's to stay in the game...I saw a lot of good offensive sets that led to easy baskets. That's what I like to see. We were still outrebounded by a disgusting number but we more than made up for that with the forced turnovers.

I'm disappointed in the game but my I feel better seeing that we could compete with Texas. Expectations are a horrible thing and the expectations for the basketball squad this year are high. If we can compete with the #2 team in the nation like we did, we can have a successful year in basketball.

Speaking of agony, I'm eagerly awaiting the Pitt game. Can West Virginia fulfill the promise of last year this year? We were thisclose to a BCS bowl last year when we lost the final two games of the year to Pitt & Boston College. Similar circumstances this year...win out and you're in a BCS bowl. The WVU stock is rising...there's talk of not necessarily being the last team picked. But, like I've said before, be prepared for all the South Florida as Big East champ talk...it's ESPN's only hope of keeping WVU out of the BCS and it's become increasingly more obvious that ESPN, led by Corso & Mark May, hate Mountaineer football and the Big East.