You know it’s not often that you get a chance to invoke the teachings of the great philosopher, Gomer Pyle. But tough times leave us with no choice.
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
And that’s exactly how I felt after watching the Razorback basketball team break our hearts again in Atlanta on Sunday.
And this after I told myself that I wasn’t going to do it again…invest emotionally in this ‘yo-yo’ of a team. But then they beat Tennessee in one of the most hard-fought, competitive games that they’ve played in years.
“Georgia should be a walk in the park,” I said to myself. And when this group of Razorback seniors cut down the nets after winning that game, they would finally be able to erase the stigma of being chronic underachievers.
It wasn’t to be, though, as Atlanta turned into ‘Bizarro World‘ for a weekend. Last Thursday, if I would’ve told you that the Hogs would lose in the SEC tournament final…to sixth seed Georgia…in a game that was moved to Georgia Tech because a F2 tornado hit the Georgia Dome…after the Bulldogs had beaten both Kentucky and Mississippi State the previous day — you would’ve surely said, “I’ll have what he’s having.”
Some might argue that the ‘yo-yo’ is now due to come back up. Others might say this year feels eerily similar to last season, when the Hogs lost in the SEC tournament final and then went on to lay an egg in the first-round against USC.
This Indiana team, however, has its own problems. (See Kelvin Sampson’s exit stage right.) So maybe we win the first game…only to then face top seed North Carolina in Raleigh. Sort of like the Hogs traveling all the way to Ft. Smith to play a ‘neutral site’ game.
But in the end, I’ll be watching on Friday night. And no doubt, watching with great anticipation. I might even have myself convinced by Thursday or Friday that we can win our first NCAA tourney game since 1999.
And if that were to happen, we’ll have to steal another line from Gomer: “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”
Go Hogs!!!
The only safe way to approach this team is to give up on them.
Indiana is likely to show up as the Indiana in their stats, resurrected from their weeks of distraction, to play their best game of the year. My only hope is that I heard their coach interviewed. I know why they are doing so poorly. He is a jerk. He could not hold Pelphry's water bottle. Maybe karma will be on our side.
Having Sonny injured should scare the rest of the kids to death. Maybe Beverly will finally show up and Townes will score 25. One thing is for sure. If they beat Indiana they will go on to beat Carolina only to lose to a 12 seed in the sweet 16.
Good point Blind. The Indiana and Carolina games could possibly turn out to be anothher Vandi -Tenn. scenario, but the difference here would be getting a solid week of preparation and rest before the next game in the sweet 16. Don't laugh, I'm serious. I don't think most teams in the country could have beaten those two teams, scoring 81 and 92 points on consecutive days, playing that kind of defense, and then beat a Georgia team taylor made for half-court. People can say what they want about Georgia's 3 games in 30 hours, but the only real up and down game they played was the first one, which was against Ole Miss, scoring into the 90s. Thier 2nd game was postponed for almost a day against Kentucky, that didn't even have thier big man Patrick Patterson. That game was in the 50s, and then 8 hours later, they played Miss. St. in another half-court game in the 50s. We all know what kind of energy the Hogs extended, in an up and down, frantic 2 days, with 2 of the best teams in the country. That's why I say this game was different. Georgia didn't out-play the Hogs, but it was just one of those game where if the Dawgs put up a bad shot, it went in, and if the Hawgs put up a good shot, it still rolled of the rim. This team showed guts in the SEC tourney. That's something we've been waiting for for years now. I can't help but be optimistic. They finally showed me what I was looking for. Every body think's Indiana was good before the coaching change, and thier right, they were, but I'd be willing to bet those guys never beat a top-tier team all year, and on thier best day, aren't a bit better than Miss. St.
You've convinced me Gonzo. I like your arguments. I did think that they really showed up in the tourney. It would be great to see them do it again.
Let's keep our fingures crossed. I hope these guy's don't make me look like I'm just blowing a lot of hot air. It wouldn't be the first time.
They can do it if they show up. A lot depends on which Indiana team shows up.