game. Can the Utes get back to this level? Maybe..............read on!
I experienced one of those sports moments last night. A moment of sheer sports euphoria.
Despite the fact that they are terrible this year, I always know when the Runnin' Utes are playing. I always make sure that I am following the game. Before last night's game, the Runnin' Utes had trotted out onto the court 27 times. 22 of those times, they had fallen short. Often times, their falls have been epically spectacular, or spectacularly epic, however you look at it.
Last night seemed to be no different. Stanford was in town, and the Utes quickly fell behind by 10 points. As I am listening to Bill Riley and Jimmy Soto bring me every missed shot and turnover, I am just hoping that Utah can keep it close. I want them to battle through this, to not let this game get out of hand. I want the fair weather fans to pick up their paper tomorrow and see that Utah at least battled.
Before I know it, its 21-11 and I have lost all hope. The final game in the Huntsman Center this season will be another beat down. Oh well, we will always have gymnastics right?
Wrong.
Jason Washburn and Chris Hines, two guys who to me embody what being a Runnin' Ute is all about, lead a charge and the Utes come back to take the lead going into halftime!
In my mind, I am telling myself that this is fools gold. Sure, they have a halftime lead. But Stanford will wake up and realize they are playing Utah and they will probably win this one going away.
I text my friend Jesse to ask his opinion. Jesse has been subjected to every painful second of this season at the Huntsman Center. He knows this team better than anyone.
"Do you think we can pull this out?" I ask
"Called it before the game started, we are winning this one tonight." came the response.
I hope he is right, I tell myself.
I better explain myself here. I am passionate about "my" teams. I follow them like crazy and I cheer my guts out for them. But if I absolutely had to pick my favorite team, it would be the Runnin' Utes. Yes, I would take the Runnin' Utes over the Jazz, Utah Football, and the Red Sox. I have my reasons, not the least of which is that my Dad was a Runnin' Ute in his day. The Runnin' Utes are the only team where my fandom borders on dangerous for my health. I want SO BADLY for this team to win, that it kills me. I convince myself that they can't win, because if I believe that they can and they don't, then it just eats at me. So I tell myself they won't have a chance, but inside I know I'm lying and I believe in them every time they step on the floor.
Whew! That feels better. Glad I got that off my chest.....back to my story.
There is a battle in the second half. And all throughout I can't shake the feeling that this will end like so many games have this year. They will make it close, but Stanford will pull away at the end. This team doesn't have a closer, and we are doomed. But I keep listening. I was a die-hard in '98 when we came so close, I am not going to bale on this team now that times are rough.
Finally, five seconds left. Washburn at the line. Utes by 1. I should really take this movie I picked up home and watch it with my wife (this is the reason I am in my car in the first place, I went to rent a movie). But I can't. I have to listen until the bitter end.
Brick. Stanford gets the ball.
Their best shooter who has hit some big shots all night has the ball, and he is racing down the court so that once again my heart can be ripped out, thrown on the ground, and stomped on. As Bill is describing these final seconds, I am getting ready to take out my frustration at this inevitable loss on the steering wheel of the car.
But no! He missed it! And it bounced right to a Ute! Game over! We won!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are 6-22! In your face doubters! Take that haters! I looked at my phone and right on cue, there is the text from Jesse.
"And that is a win". Truer words were never spoken.
Ok, the title of this is "Why I believe that Coach K is the right man for Utah", and I have spent a large chunk of time boring you with a story about one truly statistically insignificant game. The Utes aren't going anywhere this year. In fact, there are a lot of growing pains before this team is back to its glory days, if they ever make it.
My point is that what I saw and heard last night gives me a lot of optimism. Not optimist for the immediate future, but hope that someday we might get back to the promised land.
Truth be told, I liked Jim Boylen. He had passion and a love for the program and the University. He cared deeply about his players. Add this to the fact that even though he went 1-7 against the TDS in his time, he still managed to get under the skin of their fans (I have never figured out any reason why this is so, but who cares?)
I had complaints about him, don't get me wrong. He just wasn't a head coach. His offensive schemes were not effective. While he was a decent teacher of the game, his players did not improve at the rate they should have. He constantly preached about getting tougher, and his players never did.
With this team, I have seen a noticeable and marked improvement over the course of the season. I know that the naysayers are going to say "well, couldn't get much worse!". Yeah, thank you for that. Please feel free to crawl back under your bridge now.
Instead of quitting, they have remained resilient. They play their butts off every game. Most of the time, they simply don't have the talent to win, but they are giving it everything they have. Jason Washburn has come miles this season. Players are improving. They are playing as a team (yet another knock of mine on Boylen). And at times, dare I say it, it even looks like they are having fun. There is a sense of toughness and mental strength this year that I haven't seen in recent years. It's almost as if the team is repeatedly singing Bieber's "I Will Never Say Never!" Ok, probably not..............but you get my point.
Larry K has taken a team of no talent (yes, some can argue that he caused the lack of talent, but thats a pointless debate at this point) and taught them to fight and play the right way. This isn't the Mighty Ducks, where a team of nobodies suddenly becomes unbeatable. Like I said, there are a lot of hard times ahead. But for the first time in a long time, the ship is pointed in the right direction.
In my next post, I am going to explain what has to happen for this team to get going again, now that they are pointed in the right direction!
