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This team isn’t very good. We can all see that. Minus Gilbert and even with him, this team is not likely to be good at any point this season. Wiping the slate clean and starting over at 0-0 is not going change things any more than a new year will change somebody’s dating luck. The flaws are not only present but are also engraved in the central arteries of the organism at large. The coach has lost control of the program and the players know it. When your king is fatally wounded, it leaves your players ripe for infighting, sulking, and periodic indifference. I’m sure we’re going to see all of it.
OK I’m not making this sound very enticing. Why should I care if the players don’t (this isn’t true, but let’s assume for a minute that it is and they’re checked out)? Well, you shouldn’t. That’s the point. The redeeming value of a deep slumber lies in the fact that they can’t hurt you anymore. The only person that is going to hurt or help you is now…you. And before anybody accuses me of playing armchair psychologist…shut up. This isn’t a rally-the-troops post nor is it an attempt to get inside your mind. This is my story and if you’re offended by it then it’s probably yours too. I’m going to continue to go to games and continue to watch on TV and continue to post on the boneyard because that’s what I do. I don’t need a good team to do any of that. I don’t need a good team to throw on my Kemba jersey, shovel myself out of my driveway and listen to music on the way to the game. I don’t need a good team to drink beer, eat pretzels, sing the fight song, scream my lungs out, or heckle opposing players. I just need myself. And you know, now that it’s all over, I remember that I was there more than I remember Kemba, Shabazz, or anybody else being there. I remember being in Hartford for three days last year with my dad and being sick to my stomach not because they lost but because it was over. That feeling should stay the same no matter what.
As for the team, well, you never know what’s going to happen. We might not have good players, but we have players capable of getting better. We might not have good players, but we have at least a couple players capable of playing well. The other team may have good players, but they sure as hell have players capable of playing poorly, and a home court advantage wouldn’t hurt.
The conference has some clout this year. The American already has victories over Arkansas, Arizona, UCLA, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Providence, Clemson, Wisconsin, Alabama, Marquette, Auburn, Mississippi State, Boise State, Nebraska, and Kansas State. Those are teams that are ranked, have been ranked, will be ranked, or would be in the mix to be ranked if not for losses to AAC teams. That might not seem like a lot, but trust that compared to past years it is. In a year like this, where we're over-matched against the best P5 teams, I almost prefer it to losing by 30 to Virginia. Their opponent's will be good enough to where you can feel good about beating them but not so good that they can't lose to mediocre teams on the road. By and large, that's college basketball. The team that showed up in Alabama on Saturday can lose to anybody. The one that played on Thursday in Arizona can spring an upset.
If you have better things to do than watch a bad UConn team, then good for you. Seriously. The “die-hard fan” label isn’t something you earn. It’s not some honor or document that you can put on your resume. The best fans tend to be more like victims. They don’t turn away because they can’t and somehow getting kicked in the gut alongside other people turns out to be more fun than some stupid thing you do yourself. So if you feel stupid for painting your face and spending $40 and talking yourself into us beating Wichita next weekend, don’t. The people who should feel stupid are the ones who thought they needed an excuse to have fun.
OK I’m not making this sound very enticing. Why should I care if the players don’t (this isn’t true, but let’s assume for a minute that it is and they’re checked out)? Well, you shouldn’t. That’s the point. The redeeming value of a deep slumber lies in the fact that they can’t hurt you anymore. The only person that is going to hurt or help you is now…you. And before anybody accuses me of playing armchair psychologist…shut up. This isn’t a rally-the-troops post nor is it an attempt to get inside your mind. This is my story and if you’re offended by it then it’s probably yours too. I’m going to continue to go to games and continue to watch on TV and continue to post on the boneyard because that’s what I do. I don’t need a good team to do any of that. I don’t need a good team to throw on my Kemba jersey, shovel myself out of my driveway and listen to music on the way to the game. I don’t need a good team to drink beer, eat pretzels, sing the fight song, scream my lungs out, or heckle opposing players. I just need myself. And you know, now that it’s all over, I remember that I was there more than I remember Kemba, Shabazz, or anybody else being there. I remember being in Hartford for three days last year with my dad and being sick to my stomach not because they lost but because it was over. That feeling should stay the same no matter what.
As for the team, well, you never know what’s going to happen. We might not have good players, but we have players capable of getting better. We might not have good players, but we have at least a couple players capable of playing well. The other team may have good players, but they sure as hell have players capable of playing poorly, and a home court advantage wouldn’t hurt.
The conference has some clout this year. The American already has victories over Arkansas, Arizona, UCLA, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Providence, Clemson, Wisconsin, Alabama, Marquette, Auburn, Mississippi State, Boise State, Nebraska, and Kansas State. Those are teams that are ranked, have been ranked, will be ranked, or would be in the mix to be ranked if not for losses to AAC teams. That might not seem like a lot, but trust that compared to past years it is. In a year like this, where we're over-matched against the best P5 teams, I almost prefer it to losing by 30 to Virginia. Their opponent's will be good enough to where you can feel good about beating them but not so good that they can't lose to mediocre teams on the road. By and large, that's college basketball. The team that showed up in Alabama on Saturday can lose to anybody. The one that played on Thursday in Arizona can spring an upset.
If you have better things to do than watch a bad UConn team, then good for you. Seriously. The “die-hard fan” label isn’t something you earn. It’s not some honor or document that you can put on your resume. The best fans tend to be more like victims. They don’t turn away because they can’t and somehow getting kicked in the gut alongside other people turns out to be more fun than some stupid thing you do yourself. So if you feel stupid for painting your face and spending $40 and talking yourself into us beating Wichita next weekend, don’t. The people who should feel stupid are the ones who thought they needed an excuse to have fun.
