It’s déjà vu all over again

I’m still wild from having seen one of the most fantastic comebacks ever in college basketball. Pikeville College, aka da Bears, were playing in the semi-finals against a very talented Tennessee Martin Methodist team, and, despite having already gained a reputation in this tournament for some spirited rallies, it really looked like the tank had finally run dry. But an 18-0 run sealed the fate of yet another highly-ranked team and da Bears are now batting .500 in NAIA semis.

After the game was over, my mind went back to the U K game against those hated Duke Blue Devils in 1998. Here, a team also known as the Comeback Kids were down 19 in the second half, and against one of the best coaches in the business. I have to admit I gave up on them, but the thing was like a car wreck, too terrible to look away from. So I watched on.

Well, we all know our history don’t we? Coach Tubby Smith turned in one of his best performances ever, and out-coached Coach K. With a significant amount of time left, Coach K had no time-outs, and U K started in on those Devils like a lumberjack will do to a tall tree. That’s what the Cats did to Durham’s finest. Just cut them down to size and with an inside out three pointer by Scott Padgett in the waning moments of the game, U K had the Devils on the ropes, and promptly exorcised them.

In my mind that made up for another U K vs. Duke game which took place in 1992, wherein He Who Shall Remain Nameless made a last second shot that sent the Unforgettables packing. You can feel bad about such an experience, but you can also atone for your mistakes later, as truly the Big Blue did.

Then it occurred to me that Pikeville also had their “we’d-really-rather-forget-it moment” in the NAIA Big Dance that took place in 2001. What a year that was for da Bears; two local coaches and an underdog team that was over-performing in every game. And then came Faulkner.

I suppose it’s the modern times that we live in that makes the difference, but in 2001, there was no television coverage of that semifinal game. So I had to watch it on the radio. (LOL) No, seriously, that’s how I watched all the contests this year until Monday night, but I digress.

Back in 2001, when da Bears got into that team, man, it was one of the most painful games I ever listened to. Not only was the team getting the worst end of a lop-sided score, a dream was going to die with it. And I wanted the thing to end with a little dignity.

Well, it did. Da Bears decided to mount a rally in that game, too. No, I don’t remember all the details, but I know this, they got within spitting distance. Well, in my mind, the game that took place this year more than makes up for that loss, and I think we can all rest easy now, especially since U K won the whole bloomin’ onion after their game of redemption, just as I expect da Bears will do on Tues. evening.