Bittersweet Bison Basketball??

As an avid sports fan and an enthusiastic follower of the NCAA tournament, I look forward to March Madness each year. I can best describe it as my Christmas – for me, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year, as I wrote about on a previous post. Since I was a child, I have enjoyed the rituals of watching Selection Sunday, picking my bracket, and rooting for the underdogs. For me, the NCAA tournament is all about the upsets – watching the underdogs of the mid-major conferences knock off the big schools.

Each year, the powerhouse teams have chances to prove their might while the underdogs have chances to prove their worth. In 2005, I couldn’t have been more ecstatic that my wonderful alma mater became one of the true “Cinderella stories” of the big dance, knocking off a powerhouse in Kansas. It was with great pride that I rooted for my beloved Bison – it was nice to finally have a tie to an underdog to root for, instead of staking claim in a team just for the heck of it.

On Monday, March 13, I sat in my office. Antonio Anderson, a freshmen member the Memphis basketball team, and I have shared a bond since he discovered I went to Bucknell as an undergraduate. He has great love for Kevin Bettencourt and throughout the season repeatedly talked with me about the excitement surrounding Bucknell’s season – he was often just as enthusiastic about Bucknell’s wins as he was of his own team’s. Antonio, as always, walked into my office that Monday with a giant smile on his face – he couldn’t wait to ask how excited I was about Bucknell being a No. 9 seed and playing in the same region as Memphis. After congratulating him on his team’s No. 1 seed, he asked me if I hoped for a possible second-round match up between the Tigers and the Bison. “Of course,” I said, “but, Antonio, who would I root for?” He didn’t hesitate to say, “Carol, you gotta root for your team!”

And that’s what I did.

But it wasn’t necessarily easy.

The sports world is crazy in this way because it pits friends against foes and friends against friends. Each play during the Bucknell-Memphis game brought about some inner conflict for me. While watching Memphis throughout the season, I always got excited when Antonio entered the game and knocked down big three pointers – he’s a great kid and a great player, and I enjoy his successes. But this time, particular plays by Antonio or his teammates made life difficult for Bucknell’s players. It was hard to be excited for Antonio and Memphis, but also hard not to be. Nevertheless, I held back my cheers for Memphis, and held on for Bucknell’s hopes at victory. But it just wasn’t meant to be.

On Monday, March 20, I waited for Antonio’s visit to my office – I knew he would take the chance to show me his giant smile about the win over Bucknell. I congratulated him and asked if he was excited about the Sweet Sixteen. He politely said, “Carol, I’m sorry we had to knock your team out, but we gotta do what we gotta do.” I told him that I was excited for him and his teammates. I swallowed my pride and responded, “I guess if Bucknell had to lose, I’m glad Memphis won and not some other team I don’t really want to root for later in the tournament.” Antonio seemed to agree.

I always want Bucknell to continue to make strides throughout Division I college hoops. In a similar way, I want Memphis to experience the success they work for as well. As excited as I am for Memphis, however, my heart is in Lewisburg and my heart bleeds orange and blue. I believe my feelings of sadness are warranted as I am reminder that another wonderful Bucknell season has come to an end and I have to wait almost nine months to root for more Bison success. But, I still have a team to root for and hope for the best in the remainder of the tournament. And while Memphis may provide some excitement as I watch the remainder of the tournament, they cannot provide the feeling of pride I have in and the feeling of respect I have for Bucknell’s players and staff. This team has continually made me proud of Bucknell more and more each day. And for that, my feelings of the season coming to an end for the Bison aren’t bittersweet but that of pride and honor. Thanks, Bucknell, for an amazing season!