**WARNING: This post has absolutely nothing to do with law school and absolutely everything to do with IU and their win over UK last night.**
I started at IU in August 2006. That was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's first year (I haven't said his name in three years, and I am not about to start now). I was against hiring him in the first place, my sole reason being, "If he did it at Oklahoma, he's going to do it here." Turns out I was right. I watched He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named put two very good teams on the court. And I would be lying if I said I didn't cheer them on, because I did. I had season basketball tickets all four years, and I worked in the athletic department sophomore year until I graduated. I cheered and was happy when they won, but I never really liked them (except for DJ White, Kyle Taber, and Lance Stemler). I didn't like them because they walked around like we owed them something, like we should be happy they deigned to put on the IU jersey. That's not how I was raised. I was raised on three things: Seinfeld, Catholicism, and IU basketball. I was taught the IU jersey didn't earn you, YOU earned the IU jersey. And I never felt that the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 teams got that concept. I found out how right I was when the players wrote You Know Who's name on their shoes after he resigned. That to me showed that they never cared about IU. They were just in it for themselves.
I watched You Know Who take my beloved school and basketball program to the brink of complete and total ruin, and I watched Dan Dakich bring us back from the crumbling edge. While the school was in the process of hiring a new coach, I heard every name under the sun. I had people who swore to me that Coach K was coming to IU, and I chose to laugh rather than dignify that ridiculous assertion with a response. I never heard Tom Crean's name. When he was hired, the first reaction was shock. Shock because his name had never been mentioned. The following reaction was, "Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Why didn't I hear his name? It fits so well."
Crean's first season was rough. If I remember correctly, the team won six games the whole season. But here's the truth: I loved that team a thousand times more than I ever loved the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 teams. The 2008-2009 team was IU. They walked into almost every game knowing they were beaten before the ball was even tipped, yet they gave everything they had during every single game. They were trying to earn the jersey and earn the respect of the IU fanbase. They endured boos, insults, and fans exiting the IU wagon by the hordes, and they still kept fighting. At my job, I had to listen to season ticket holders of 30+ years tell me that they weren't renewing their tickets. And I had to keep repeating the one thing I held onto, "Just believe. Have faith. And be patient. Believe that we will be great again, have faith that Crean is the man who's going to get us there, and have patience because it's going to take awhile." I convinced few to none to keep their tickets. But there were still true fans out there. I remember my boss telling me he was at Yogi's for IU's final game in 2009, and everyone there was cheering like crazy, trying to will the team to win. He said an outsider would have seen the enthusiasm and thought they were cheering for a national championship. They were cheering for win number seven. I was one of those fans. I have realized now that the "fans" hurling the insults and the boos were not fans at all. They just equated IU basketball with winning...and it's so much more than that.
It's great to see that my mantra of "Believe, have faith, and be patient" is finally paying off. The win last night was indescribable. I keep tearing up seeing the shot, the ensuing court rush, and the celebration on Kirkwood. I would have given anything to be there. IU deserved this win. I've heard people say they didn't, and I can't begin to tell you how wrong they are. With everything these players and this program has endured the last three seasons, this win was more than deserved. I wouldn't trade a second of the last three seasons, because if I did, this win wouldn't feel as amazing as it does now. I've always said that we were building towards something great, something that was going to be so amazing that when it happened, there would be no words. There would only be tears and lots of joyous screaming. That something was the win last night.
Look out, baby. IU's back.
HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOSIERS!
