Damned if you

[maxw]

The nonstop talk of inevitability of our championship is making me nervous.

We're in a no-win situation with all this adulation and expectations - win and people write it off as expected, and lose, there will be immense ridicule.

What are our chances of a three-peat?

 

[husky429]

Don't worry about the championship, final 4, or elite 8. 1 game at a time.

 

[businesslawyer]

The nonstop talk of inevitability of our championship is making me nervous.

We're in a no-win situation with all this adulation and expectations - win and people write it off as expected, and lose, there will be immense ridicule.

What are our chances of a three-peat?

And we're supposed to care what "people" say exactly why? Would the thrill and joy of winning four more games, one game at a time, somehow be reduced by having to hear a person tell you that the championship was "expected."

 

[uconnfan68]

And we're supposed to care what "people" say exactly why? Would the thrill and joy of winning four more games, one game at a time, somehow be reduced by having to hear a person tell you that the championship was "expected."

Can we hang a banner now since it's "expected"?

 

[Deepster]

The nonstop talk of inevitability of our championship is making me nervous.

We're in a no-win situation with all this adulation and expectations - win and people write it off as expected, and lose, there will be immense ridicule.

What are our chances of a three-peat?

Nervous about what, exactly?

That one of the remaining four teams we’d play might play really hard against us?

 

[Hi-Low]

We either have 1, 2, 3 or 4 games left of watching this current amazing UConn team. I hope we're blessed with 4 more games........but I'll just enjoy the games 1 at a time and see what happens...from here on out I don't expect a cakewalk.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

The nonstop talk of inevitability of our championship is making me nervous.

We're in a no-win situation with all this adulation and expectations - win and people write it off as expected, and lose, there will be immense ridicule.

What are our chances of a three-peat?

Immense ridicule of what? Of having 5x national championships and not being able to win back-to-back? If that's what we call "immense ridicule" I would take that immense ridicule any day. That's a freaking privilege to potentially kinda face that ridicule.

Lets take it one step at a time and enjoy the journey

 

[Inyatkin]

The nonstop talk of inevitability of our championship is making me nervous.

We're in a no-win situation with all this adulation and expectations - win and people write it off as expected, and lose, there will be immense ridicule.

What are our chances of a three-peat?

Favored and inevitable are not the same thing. And no one writes off a championship as expected.

People are so weird

 

[Rocktheworld]

Favored and inevitable are not the same thing. And no one writes off a championship as expected.

People are so weird

Seriously where is this “nonstop” talk occurring?

 

[Rocktheworld]

The nonstop talk of inevitability of our championship is making me nervous.

We're in a no-win situation with all this adulation and expectations - win and people write it off as expected, and lose, there will be immense ridicule.

What are our chances of a three-peat?

Go get a Xanax prescription

 

[gtcam]

TAKE ONE GAME AT A TIME
and relax

 

[willie99]

Enjoy the ride, we're the best team. Doesn't mean we'll win, but we're in a better place than everyone else

 

[uconn_jack]

Can we hang a banner now since it's "expected"?

Syracuse might.

 

[uconngb]

I don't know about immense ridicule, but there is something to the notion that everyone in the world is picking us to win. Those things hardly ever work out (unless your name is Tiger Woods). I just hope we keep our focus up and play even close to our top level. If we do and we lose, I can handle that. Every game is gonna be tough now, there are a lot of good teams left. I'm personally not taking anything for granted and I'm pretty sure our coaching staff isn't either. But I sure hope they somehow have the players walled off from all the hype they are getting.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Come on. We all care about what other people say about uconn basketball. We wouldn't be on here if we didn't. We wouldn't listen to podcasts or read articles if we didn't.
Note: there was a special flavor to the 99 championship, simply due to what the experts said about us. "We shocked the world" would be meaningless to us if we "didn't care" what people said.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Can we hang a banner now since it's "expected"?

Wish I had photoshop. I can see it now "2024 The Year we were really good but just couldn't pull it off".

 

[huskeynut]

One day at a time. One game at a time.

I don't listen to the idiotic chatter of the "expert journalists." ESPN needs the press. They are setting the agenda for the press.

Too bad so many buy into this stuff.

 

[DogBoy]

Wish I had photoshop. I can see it now "2024 The Year we were really good but just couldn't pull it off".

Well there were a few other years . . .

 

[UCan3]

The nonstop talk of inevitability of our championship is making me nervous.

We're in a no-win situation with all this adulation and expectations - win and people write it off as expected, and lose, there will be immense ridicule.

What are our chances of a three-peat?

The odds not matter how many people want to pick us, are against winning the NC. Savor every victory, survive and advance!

 

[nomar]

Completely wrong.

If we win, it’s gonna be ridiculously awesome.

 

[Sphinx]

And we're supposed to care what "people" say exactly why? Would the thrill and joy of winning four more games, one game at a time, somehow be reduced by having to hear a person tell you that the championship was "expected." reputation

If you don't care what people say, what earthly reason is there to play competitive sports at all? Or to gain a reputation for achieving anything in life? Is not the "thrill and joy" of winning enhanced immeasurably by its unexpectedness, by proving your doubters wrong? Why is it even necessary to point this out? Why does this forum insist. time and again, on countering the obvious with some tired cliche?

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Wish I had photoshop. I can see it now "2024 The Year we were really good but just couldn't pull it off".

I'm glad you don't have Photoshop.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm glad you don't have Photoshop.

Well it would have said “Purdue Boilermakers“ at the top

 

[YearoftheHusky]

Write us off as “expected” all day if that means we win.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

If you don't care what people say, what earthly reason is there to play competitive sports at all?

Spoken like a true competitor. Good grief. Yes, the essence of competition is what other people you don't know might say about you on the internet. Just like Michael Jordan always said.

I would counter the original poster's premise with the following: there is, in fact, a "win" in his scenario. It's winning.

If they lose along the way it sucks, like it does for every other team in the field except one. Does it suck maybe a little bit more knowing that something historic is in reach? Sure. But if you think "immense ridicule" is on the other end of a loss that leaves them at something like 45-4 in their last 49 games, or you're worried about what clowns like Jeff Goodman or some random Canadian idiot on syracusefan.com might say then I don't know how to help you.

Add this thread to the million reasons I'm glad these kids are playing and not anyone on this board.

Whether you play like you're scared to lose and you lose or you play balls to the wall and lose, either way it's a loss. Might as well get after it. Who gives a what people think?