To say the Miami University hockey team will enter the 2009-10 season with a chip on its shoulder is like describing Prince Fielder as slightly overweight. Watching a two-goal lead in the national championship game evaporate with less than a minute in regulation doesn't give you a chip on the shoulder - it means you lost an arm.
I'm trying to conjure an analogy to adequately describe what being in the Verizon Center felt like at the national championship, but I can't. No words can describe it. Never in my entire life have I gone from such an extreme emotional high to such an extreme emotional low in such an extremely short period of time.
That is why I am praying for Enrico Blasi and the entire RedHawk hockey team.
For all the emotional trauma I experienced after watching Boston University rip the title away from Miami, I know the brotherhood experienced infinitely more.
At first it was easy for me to be incredibly selfish. All I could think about was how tragic and miserable this was for me as a fan. "What could have been" syndrome hit hard for several days.
But I think there is something much bigger going on here than any amount of post-game celebrations, victory parades, SportsCenter segments or championship T-shirts we as RedHawk faithful missed out on.
Sure I may never get to watch Miami compete for a national title as a student ever again, but some of the seniors on that team may never play competitive hockey again, regardless of the stakes.
You've seen the commercial - "there are more than 380,000 student athletes, and just about all of them will go pro in something other than sports."
The fact I, as a fan, can get so worked up about Saturday's hockey game makes me wonder what the players and coaches are going through right now.
I can't even pretend to understand what that must be like. Taking my personal anguish, however, and magnifying it by any multiplier - probably a fairly large one in this case - does cause me a great deal of concern for the team when I stop to think about it.
The loss is especially cruel for Blasi, as he is now faced with the unenviable task of not only making sense of all this for himself, but at the same time helping his players do likewise.
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He's not allowed to just go stick his head in the sand and feel sorry because he has to care for a team of college-aged athletes.
You can say, "It's just a game" or "It's only sports" all you want, but that's just not true. Maybe for fans it should be (although I will never believe that), but for the players and coaches it is definitely more than just a game. They dedicate their lives to this.
In one season alone an insane amount of time and energy is put into the pursuit of a championship and that doesn't begin to account for the many years spent getting to this level in the first place. Try telling any one of those players it's just a game and see if you can even make it back to tell me how it goes.
All that being said, if there is any team in the country that can turn this into a positive it's the brotherhood. Blasi's rallying cry from day one has been to "get better every day."
Losing the national championship in the most excruciating way imaginable doesn't change that for a second.
This is not just a team, it's a family, and there is no coach I'd rather have as head of the household than Rico.
The NCAA tournament format throws any promise of a return to the sport's holy land out the window. For better or worse, a single-elimination playoff means there certainly are no guarantees.
One thing we can count on, however, is the RedHawks will get better as promised, and that is a scary thought for any team playing Miami next season.
I mentioned earlier I am praying for this hockey team. In no way do I believe God takes interest in wins and losses on an ice rink nor do I ever involve the Supreme Being in sports by praying for victories on an athletic field of play.
I do, however, firmly believe everything happens for a reason, and this hockey game is no exception. The way Boston scored its first, second and fourth goal only confirms that in my mind.
I said it once, and I'll say it again: this is not just about sports, this is not just a game.
This is about the character of the men in that locker room. Faced with this present fire, they can either melt into mediocrity or be refined into something precious like gold.
I pray the mettle of this team proves to be of great worth. How's that for a silver lining?
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