Friday, April 16, 2010

Pulling for the underdog

A reprint of my April 8 column from the Woodford Sun

Butler got its foot all the way into the slipper.

But at the last possible second, the glass shattered, littering the floor of Lucas Oil Stadium with shards of the Bulldogs’ NCAA Championship Fairy Tale.

As the clock struck zero, the ball sailed through the air. A bounce. Off the backboard. A bounce. Off the rim. A final of couple of bounces on the hardwood and it was over.

Duke fans celebrated.

Most everyone else flipped off their television sets with a sense of sadness.

Without a doubt, the majority of fans were pulling for Butler. That little school in Indianapolis wormed its way into the consciousness of college basketball fans across the Fruited Plain with an impressive NCAA run. Well over 90 percent of the respondents to a LEX18.com poll said they were pulling for the Bulldogs. Sure, one could chalk that up to a visceral hatred for Duke around these parts, but I have a feeling the results wouldn’t have been a whole lot different in any other part of the country – save along North Carolina’s Tobacco Road.

We love underdogs.

People naturally pull for the little guy. And the Bulldogs were the quintessential David facing Goliath (aka Duke). Butler, a small private school with an enrollment of 4,200, faced an NCAA basketball perennial power. According to Darren Rovell of CNBC Sports, last year Duke spent $394,068 per player on expenses. Butler spent $347,108 – total. As in player expenses for the whole program.

Yes, we love to pull for that underdog.

Some of the most compelling stories in sports revolve around the little guy knocking off the big boys – North Carolina State upsetting Houston in the 1983 NCAA title game, the United States beating the USSR in the 1980 Olympics, the Joe Namath led New York Jets knocking off the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

When the commoner comes away with the crown, it gives the rest of us a little glimmer of something we all yearn for, something we desperately need.

Hope.

Most of us view ourselves as relatively common folk. And day after day, we beat our heads against institutions and obstacles that seem to intentionally conspire to thwart our success. Government red tape. Mean spirited bosses. Financial setbacks. It creates a sense of powerlessness, a feeling that we will never find the means to rise above the challenges and attain the lofty goals we set for ourselves.

But when a school like Butler comes onto the scene and starts knocking off the giants, we sit up and take notice. And it serves as a reminder that we can triumph – we can overcome. No matter how the system may stack up against us, if we persevere, work hard and keep pushing, we too can reach the Promised Land. The Butlers of the world remind us of the possibilities in our own lives.

There’s another lesson if we dig a little deeper. Overcoming takes a lot of work and a healthy dose of persistence. The Bulldogs have been building toward this Final Four appearance for years. While they popped onto most fans’ radar only recently, Butler has quietly built a solid program over the last several years. The Bulldogs made the NCAA tourney nine of the last 14 years. They reached the Sweet 16 three times in the past eight years. And they did it the hard way: developing players that the bigger programs overlooked, emphasizing basketball fundamentals and with some good old fashioned hard work.

The Butler program didn’t give up when it didn’t immediately succeed. It didn’t make excuses and whine about the unfairness of the system. It didn’t fold up camp after its first tourney exit. They pressed on. The fought on. The struggled on,

So Butler offers us hope. The little guy doesn’t finish last.

But Butler also offers a challenge. The Bulldogs remind us to keep fighting, to keep working and to press onward.

Quick Shots

When West Virginia senior Da’Sean Butler went down late in the Mountaineers’ NCAA semi-final match-up against Duke, WVU coach Bob Huggins rushed onto the court to comfort his player, who was writing in agony from what turned out to be a torn ACL. Huggins kneeled down next to Butler and enveloped him in a hug. Leaning close, to the seniors face, Huggins spoke words of comfort and remained in that position until Butler calmed down enough to come off the floor. It was one of the most tender moments I have ever witnessed during a sporting event. There was no doubting Huggins’ genuine love and concern for his player.

Here’s an amusing quote I saw after Duke won its fourth National Title. “You can't have Duke without UK.” Of course it looses a little bit considering the Cats were sitting in their living rooms watching the Dukies win it all.

In its march through the NCAA Tournament, Butler held every opponent to under 60 points – that is until the championship game. Duke scored 61.

Quote of the Week

“They write books, I read them.” – Butler basketball coach Brad Stevens, referring to the big name coaches he’s faced in the NCAA Tournament, including Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke.

Puck to the Head

This week’s puck flies at the head of former major league pitcher Dwight Gooden. The 1985 Cy Young Award winner was arrested on March 23. Police say Gooden was driving his 5-year-old son to school when he rear-ended a Mercedes and then left the scene. Officers pulled him over minutes later and found his son unrestrained in the back seat. Police charged Gooden with driving under the influence of drugs, leaving the scene of an accident and child endangerment. The former major leaguer released a statement claiming he had been using the prescribed sleep medication Ambian. Just a little tip for Dwight – sleeping pills might make you sleepy.

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