Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Basketball deserves 2nd chance

Eric Wormus

I am used to losing.

I don't mean that I'm a loser-although I've been called worse-it's just that I have grown accustomed to rooting for a team only to have that team break my heart.

"Why is it?" you ask.

The answer's pretty easy; I'm a Cincinnati Bengals fan. Not only that, but I live with two other Bengals fans and our other roommate supports the Cleveland Indians. You have to be able to deal with losing if you want to live in this apartment.

I have been handling losing since I was 10 months old and watched the Bengals choke away Super Bowl XXIII to the San Francisco 49ers. I watched the Reds blow a shot at the playoffs in 1999, losing 5-0 in a one game playoff to the New York Mets. I witnessed the University of Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin break his leg just before March Madness during the year the Bearcats were destined to win the whole thing.

Most recently I watched helplessly as the Bengals' Super Bowl hopes came crashing down as Kimo von Oelhoffen, heretofore known only as "the Devil Incarnate," crushed the knee of Carson Palmer. Suffice it to say, I have learned how to get by.

So when the scoreboard at Millet Hall read University of Dayton 63, Miami University 62 last Wednesday night, it was an experience I had dealt with many times before.

ESPN's Bill Simmons would classify Miami's loss to Dayton as a Level 2 Stomach Punch Loss on his 13 Levels of Losing. A Stomach Punch Loss occurs when the other team wins with a clutch play or you lose because your team choked away the win. Between the missed free throws and the long range 3-pointer to win, we had a little bit of both Wednesday night.

So now the question becomes, "What next?"

This is the part where I can use my personal experiences to help you, the fans, cope. Immediately after the game, you probably felt angry; probably a good mix of anger and disappointment. Don't worry, this is natural. It's OK to be mad. After all, as The Foundations would say, the basketball team built us up, just to let us down. The key is to not lose faith.

The relationship between a fan and the team is not very different from any other relationship. Most of us have, at some point, gotten into a fight with a boyfriend or girlfriend. We said things we shouldn't have said and they said some thing they shouldn't have. One fight does not end a relationship though, and similarly one loss shouldn't cost the team our support.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

If you screw things up with your girlfriend, you buy her some flowers, take her out to a nice dinner and sit through a two-hour chick flick. It's a tried and true method of earning a girl's forgiveness. It only works, however, because she gives us the opportunity to apologize.

The team knows they screwed up, but it won't help anyone if we decide to stay away from Millet Hall from now on. They need our support, and we need something to get excited about. Saturday, the RedHawks nearly upset the University of Louisville, the No. 10 team in the country. So when Indiana State University visits Oxford Tuesday, be there and be loud. Let the team earn your forgiveness. Chances are, you won't be disappointed.