I watched the game last night with a good friend of mine who is a die hard Wisconsin fan, myself being a die hard Illini fan. We get together for most games between the two teams, and are both able to respect the other program while also hating on the other to an extent. We were talking at halftime about all things Illini and Wisconsin basketball, when he made the following comment about the 2004-2005 Illini, and honestly believed what he was saying:
"I really don't think that team was all that good."
He kept talking, while I tried to wrap my head around what he had just said. My first response once I processed his absurd statement was:
"Ok, first of all, take it back. You take it back right now."
I rattled off the first things that came to my head regarding the utter GREATNESS in every sense of the word of that team. Things I said included:
"37-2 tied for the most wins at the time in a single season in NCAA HISTORY!"
"3 different players who were selected First Team All-America by either USA Today, Parade, or Coaches."
"The domination of ranked teams that year, Wisconsin included. They had #1 Wake Forest down by over 40 before calling off the dogs. They had a ranked Gonzaga team down by 40 before calling off the dogs. They won by double figures at Michigan State, who was a top 10 team and ended up in the final four."
"John Wooden was quoted after their dismantling of Gonzaga, that he had not seen such a strong basketball team in a long time."
I stopped here, I think my friend saw that he struck a nerve. He tried justifying his statement by saying the NCAA was down that year, and I chose not to respond for the sake of our friendship. There is so much more I could have said, but if he still wasn't convinced of their greatness after hearing just a few of their accomplishments, maybe he just had to live every game as I did. Any thoughts? More than anything, I think I am looking for the comfort of fellow Illini lifers after having to justify something to a crazy person, that I believe is common sense.