Warning: Long post that is mostly just my personal quest for catharsis.
The drive back to Chicago last night was heart breaking. After a full day of meetings yesterday, I finally left for the State Farm Center around 4:45. Traffic was bad. Roads were bad. Cars were in ditches. A Uhaul was upside down in the median. My GPS gave me an arrival time of 8:15 and as I raced it, I too almost found a ditch. Driving home after that disappointing roller-coaster ride of a game, I just felt sick, angry and gutted. I spent 7 hours driving down icy roads for THAT? We had control of the conference and just gave it away like THAT?
After an hour or so, I decided to listen to the post game presser and a couple things finally gave me some solace.
1. BU and the team have their eyes set on bigger things. The regular season championship is just a checkpoint on their way to March. They want a Natty. Whether that's realistic right now or not, I'm not sure. It seems less plausible than it was a month ago. But the fact that we have a coach and a team who is confronting that mountain head on, the fact that they aren't afraid of those expectations, the fact that they aren't simply talking about making it to the tournament, they want to WIN IT...That brought me some peace.
2. Before the season I thought we would finish 2nd in the Big Ten. And I was fine with that. Losing the regular season title (if we lose it) doesn't mean this was/is an unsuccessful season. Again, "March".
3. The last 5 minutes of that game, bad outcome not withstanding, was the most fun I've had at a sporting event in a longgg time. The crowd was electric and the adrenaline rush and jubilation that we all shared with every made shot and every turnover just cannot be replicated anywhere else. I'm again left wondering what it must have been like to see The Comeback in person. That's what it's all about right?
Overall, I'm still disappointed. But hope springs eternal with Illini Nation. Three days til March.