The Sports Year From Hell, Ch. 3: Basketball
So, here it is: the final chapter of the odyssey through my brutal year of sports. If you missed the first two installments of my public grief, find them here and here.
I send you off with the sport of basketball, or as I like to call it, "the poor man's soccer." Just kidding, I love watching good basketball, even if the sport doesn't draw me in the way football or fútbol does. There were only two real significant basketball championships this year (excluding the predestined Gold Medals for the US Women and Men), so why do I reserve this piece as the last chapter? You will find out shortly, and, if you know anything about me, you already know the answer.
First, a nod to one highlight from the basketball season: my little brother always gets exasperated when, amidst my moaning, I fail to mention that North Carolina won both the regular-season conference title and the ACC Championship (vanquishing our bogeymen Virginia in an exciting game). And it's true, I was thrilled with that victory; however, in a year in which we were ranked #1 preseason and had our sights on a national title, an ACC Championship wasn't as much an achievement as it was an expectation.
So, in order of pain index:
2. (June 19, 2016): NBA Finals Game 7
The Teams: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Background: It had been a solid decade since I had last been fairly invested in the NBA Playoffs (that Pistons team of the mid-2000s was magical), but Golden State played a large part in re-piquing my interest in the game. I loved the way they played: total team ball, with a lineup full of knockout shooters. Their "superstars" were only superstars because the system they played in accentuated their strengths. I had so very much enjoyed watching that team knock off LeBron and his Cavaliers for the crown in 2015, and was so very ready to see them do it again.
The Result: And, with a 3-1 series lead heading back to Golden State, it appeared they were in fact going to deny LeBron again. But they farted Games 5 and 6 away, and we were headed to a Game 7. 'Surely,' I thought, 'surely now, this record-setting team will win this series on their home court.' Alas, I was wrong. In the first tightly-locked game of the series, the two teams traded blows up to the end, but, thanks to some late drama, the Cavaliers came away with the shocking 93-89 win. Cleveland wins. LeBron wins. Commentators faint. LeBron haters (like me) scream and claw their hair out.
Pain Index: 7.5/10 LeBron Victory Speeches
As I told a close friend who is a much bigger NBA fan (and also hates the Cavs) than I am, I was surprised by how much this one hurt. Again, I have never been too emotionally invested in the NBA, and I guess it was only a matter of time until Bron-Bron got Cleveland their title. But it was the way it happened. Golden State was supposed to end this thing in Game 5, and all the little LeBron bandwagoners (and some Cleveland die-hards, I guess) would shut up about how he was the greatest ever, how if Cleveland were at full health the year before they would have won, how Golden State was so overrated, etc. Instead, they blew it, and LeBron walks away with his crowning achievement: making all of us who get annoyed at his constant media presence, his flopping and whining, his ridiculous "moral high ground"-ing, his repetitive straw-man social media rants, admit that he is truly one of the greats. Barf.
1. (April 4, 2016): NCAA National Championship
The Teams: North Carolina vs. Villanova
The Background: This was it. My Tar Heels, who had been absent from the Final Four (let alone the Championship) for 7 years, were finally going to be on top again. Through years of roster fluidity, early NBA departures, NCAA violation mess, and ensuing disappointing seasons, we were the preseason #1. Even though the 2015-16 season wasn't as smooth as we would have hoped, we were hitting our stride in March, winning the ACC Tournament, and we had BLASTED our way to the title game (our closest game to that point was a 14-point win over Notre Dame in the Elite 8). And, we were playing an underdog: Villanova, a team that we had beaten in the tournament in our last 3 title runs. See? Fate.
The Result: Except all of a sudden, fate wasn't on our side. After being the better team in the first half, UNC got overpowered by Villanova for most of the second half, so much so that with 5 minutes left, we were facing an unfamiliar sight: a 10-point deficit. I'm not gonna lie, I thought the game was over then. We looked tired, slow, and defeated. But all of a sudden, we were in it again. Our Senior leader Marcus Paige, my ALL-TIME favorite Tar Heel (and I don't take that lightly), was practically willing us back, hitting clutch shot after clutch shot. The lead dwindled to 7, to 4, to 3, to 1, thanks to plays like this one. Then it happened! With the clock winding down and the Tar Heels down by 3, the ball somehow found its way into Paige's hands and he did this:
Look at Michael Jordan going nuts! I went nuts! Who wouldn't?? Through the most incredible sequence of events, our star had sent the game into OT, and let's be real, we weren't losing in OT. Not after a momentum swing like that.
...Except there were still 4.7 seconds left to defend. And inexplicably, defending is something we did not do well for those last 4.7 seconds. Unless you've gone completely off the grid, you know what happened next:
It took me about 4 months to re-watch that play for the first time. I still tear up when I see it; I'm not even joking. Laugh all you want. THIS HERE'S REAL.
Pain Index: 10/10 Buzzer Beaters
I closed this series with the basketball article because there is nothing, NOTHING, that could be worse pain than this game. Actually, one thing lessened the pain: that it was a charming team like Villanova, and not Duke or Kentucky.
But I implore any of you sports fans who loved that shot and that victory to remember the other side of it. Imagine your favorite sports team, the one whose performance could completely change your mood on any given day, playing in the championship. First, it should be noted, this is not just your favorite team, it's your favorite favorite team: this group of guys is a an assortment of hard-working, fun-loving, standup young men, and they have earned this championship bid. What's more, your star player, your leader, has almost singlehandedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Then, in one instant play, the other team has won. Clock is out. Fireworks go off. Game over.
I'm not sure I will ever fully recover from this one. UNC's next title will certainly remove the taste of bitterness from my mouth, but winning that game in overtime would have been the undisputed zenith of my sports fandom. Marcus Paige should have been immortal. Instead, it will be Kris Jenkins.
Me too, guys. Me too.