This isn’t going to be one of the typical articles you read on this site. It’s not filled with humor, Herban Meyer jokes, or Ricky Bobby references. It’s actually a bit depressing.
I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach…
That’s the best way to put it. I feel like Fate teased me with victory and then pulled my shirt over my head and punched me in the gut, hockey-style.
As I was sitting at my local drinking establishment last night during halftime, listening to my Memphis fan buddy tell me that the game was over while I insisted there was plenty of game left, I couldn’t help but think “Holy Shit…we’re going to win this game.” Then Ohio State came out on fire, cutting our lead from 17 to 7 in what felt like 30 seconds. You could feel the tide turning. The Vols had been tied up by the headsman and were just waiting for the ax to drop.
When Oden blocked Ramar Smith’s runner to seal the deal, it capped what had gone from an incredible to extremely shitty night. The Vols were 8-17 from the free throw line, gave up 53 points in the second half, and blew a 20 point lead.
That last part is what makes this loss hurt so much…the “What could have been”. If Ohio State had won this by 20, you could say they were just better than us and move on. If the game had been close all the way with the Buckeyes winning at the end, you could say that we gave them our best shot and just came up a little short and move on. But being up 17 at halftime you can’t say any of that. It should be the Vols playing Memphis on Saturday. It should be the Vols with a shot to go to the Final 4.
But it’s not.
So you have a few (too many) beers, kick your dog (not too hard), and try to move on. But it takes awhile. The what if’s won’t go away. You try to look back and realize what a great season it was and how these guys played their guts out every night. But it keeps coming back…
What might have been…….
This will always be one of my favorite Vols teams. Jajuan Smith going from walk-on to All-SEC; The way they all came together as a team when Lofton got hurt; The way Dane left everything on the court night in and night out with two fucked up shoulders; The way Ramar just kept getting better and better and better; Ryan Childress proving he’s is a legitimate SEC player; Wayne Chism showing future All-American talent; Bruce Pearl being Bruce Pearl…painting himself Orange, appearing on every TV show they’ll let him on, stomping down the sideline with his face flashing from scowl to that big, goofy, Jew grin in less than a second. And what do you say about Chris Lofton? In the opinion of this writer/homer fan, there is no more electrifying or clutch player in college basketball.
I hope I can look back on this team and just remember all of that…the good stuff. But after last night, I feel like there may be a bit of a shadow to go along with it…
What might have been….
I guess the victory goes to the team who wanted it more.
Oden’s shot blocking skills are incomparable, even if he was in foul trouble most of the game.
Go bucks!
Go Bucks!
First of all — who is this Bone Grabber ahead of me? Go Bucks? What are you, a Pirate’s fan?
Anyways, fuck him. Loser, I feel your pain, brother. Fucking tough loss. Reminds me of the Arizona loss to Illinois a couple years back. My cuz went to school in Tucson. I nearly drank himself to death after that. This one will sting for a while.
Come on Football season.
I hope the Fuckeyes are man enough to make it to the Finals and I hope the Gators play their game and get to match up with them again — I’d love for the Gators to run through them again like water through a Tijuana tourist. We’ll have to make them erect a Gator statue in Columbus if that happens – like a flag on the moon kinda thing.
Oh, also — I assume someone took all sharp objects and your shoelaces away from you ….
Damnit TKGB, you make me want to pull for the Gators
I hear ya homie, I almost want to put down my crackpipe, step away from tha mic, and pull for the Gators, dog!
cheaa!