07
Nov
“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” –Thoreau
“…I know nothing else but miracles…To me every hour of light and dark is a miracle, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle, Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with miracles, Every foot of the interior swarms with miracles.” –Walt Whitman
***
Very soon, we’re going to be neck-deep in tempo free stats. RPI. Matchups. Adjustments. Records, predictions, and post-game pressers. We will hit the road across town, across the state, and across time zones as we compare Mapquest to tip times. Words will be spoken and written in flurries; heat of the moment diatribes alongside well-constructed analysis from 140 characters to 140 paragraphs. Much of that will occur right here.
It is all necessary and an important part of the story we will eventually tell of the 2011-12 college basketball season. The creation of its countenance, its miracles, begins in earnest tonight when William & Mary takes on St. John’s.
Be absolutely certain you enjoy every moment of it, beginning this very moment, even the losses. There is sticky irony to the fact that March will come sooner than we wish. The third month is the culimnation of four months of our focus. Its Big Dance is a festive event, but it also represents the end. So enjoy every moment.
Lament is a loser’s strategy, and as we’ve written before lament will cheat you of the miracle of your passion, college basketball. There is pain in missing game-sealing free throws and being on the ball-retrieval side of the buzzer-beater. Let the pain work through you but move on. Three days from that day a referee (that you will yell mean things at) will provide you the ultimate redemption–sending the basketball airborne for the opening tip.
They are all moments. Live in them. Do not be offended at the myriad of stories and teevee windows on the big time websites and networks covering the big time conferences. This isn’t us-against-them and it isn’t some twisted version of the little engine that could. It’s true the major conferences have more resources and more teevee appearances, and they have supposed big time writers lapping at the coattails of the programs and the coaches. But to complain about this reality is an offensive stance to what we do.
I’m not bothered that Jeff Goodman reports on players he doesn’t know. It’s better that he writes Tim Rusthaven and we tout #Beasthoven. They can write and talk what they wish, as much as they wish, and I will carry a very satisfied smile.
We have two Final Fours and three other NCAA tournament wins, and that’s all the proof I need. It isn’t proof that “we belong,” or some other woe-begotten, disrespectful concept. To me, it’s proof the CAA plays damn good basketball. Period.
The best part is also the main reason you shouldn’t rob yourself of one single moment of this basketball season. They don’t know what we know; that mid major basketball, especially the CAA, offers the kind of intimacy a passion demands. Intimacy is the essence of passion, removing the detachment of distance and bringing with it a sense that it matters. Harmony.
Major conference fans bleat on sports radio. We see friendly faces on roadies, have access to coaches, and the beat reporters are all good people who enjoy what they cover and don’t mind sharing information. It’s why Will Thomas started chanting C-A-A in a Verizon Center locker room six years ago, and the chant rekindles every March. It’s a togetherness, an intimacy.
In short, we have it better.
It’s better when when the rest of the world sees what we are treated to seeing every night of every winter: that Kent Bazemore is a freak. That Samme Givens is indomitable. It’s better when Shaka Smart tells the national media that his Rams were ready for Florida State’s defense because they had to play Drexel and Old Dominion during the regular season–they had seen better defenses–and two days later VCU punks Kansas.
Minutia matters when it matters. We’ll get there, probably as early as later today when we prepare to watch the Tribe.
But for this moment allow the rest of America to care about football and lockouts. For me, we will breathe the air. We will drink the drink. And we will taste the fruit of college basketball–the best game on the planet.
November 7th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Awesome post, Litos. I love the Will Thomas reference, too – my all-time favorite Patriot (tied with George Evans, of course). Plus, as a former English teacher, thanks for the Thoreau and Whitman quotes – I loved teaching those guys in my English 11 classes.
November 7th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
[...] Litos wrote this piece to kickoff the season, and you should read it. Not every hoops scribe can go all Whitman and [...]
November 7th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Damn Shawn, you must be older than me if you taught Thoreau and Whitman in 11th-grade English
November 7th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Good one, Jim.
November 7th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Well said – as usual. It’s great to regularly hear & read positive comments about the CAA; from national media, coaches, players, fans – recruits – even opponents. Sure, there are rivalries, and occasional heated exchanges among fans at games, in blogs, bars, wherever. But, bitter feelings are usually temporary. This stuff matters – Big Time! Go to an important CAA game, there’s passion through the roof. Maybe it’s a bit more intense among the Virginia schools – but, and here’s the thing – it’s changing, and FAST. Far flung schools with next to nothing in common are now both on each other’s case AND in each other’s corner! Think about that! Whether it’s the NCAA Tournament or the FCS playoff games, it’s the CAA, BABY! WE (ok, us ACC Country folks) know for a fact a Duke fan WILL NEVER pull for UNC to beat anybody in the NCAA Tourney – nor will FSU fans cheer for The ‘Canes in a Bowl game – & on & on. But, have you checked out the pride in the CAA lately!
November 7th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Preach brother Litos, preach…
November 7th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
I’ll admit it- that post gave me chills. Excellent stuff!
November 9th, 2011 at 9:49 am
Indeed, we have it better.