Hoosier heritage hits close to home

PRINT THIS COMMENTS (0) SEND TO A FRIEND RELATED STORIES

By Colin Altevogt, February 25, 2010

The Pacers have only made the playoffs once since Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson turned a game in Detroit into a taping of the “Jerry Springer Show.” The outlook of the team is so bleak that fans actually feigned excitement about drafting Tyler Hansbrough.

 

Things have only been worse in Bloomington for Indiana University. Not since Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground in the Civil War have we seen a single person leave somewhere in worse shape than what Kelvin Sampson did to the program two years ago.

 

The Hoosiers have won four Big Ten games in the last two seasons and don’t have a victory in the last month. The Wikipedia page for team says the program “has intense rivalries against the Purdue Boilermakers, Illinois Fighting Illini and the Kentucky Wildcats.” Those have been as one-sided as a plate of brownies’ rivalry with Rosie O’Donnell.

 

Mired in my funk as a basketball fanatic, however, one team has brought me joy. It is a group that functions as a true team, running a multi-faceted attack without reliance on a superstar. It is a team that downed its conference’s preseason favorite, 97-94, on the road this December in double overtime and hasn’t looked back since.

 

I write, of course, about the Franklin women’s basketball team that has won eight of its last nine games, including a furious come-from-behind victory last Saturday to clinch the regular season championship. By virtue of that win, the road to the conference championship runs through Franklin this weekend.

 

We have actually been a bit spoiled in terms of big sports events over the last four years. The football team has gone 4-0 during homecoming and earned two home playoff games. The men’s basketball team hosted the conference championship three seasons ago, and seniors should be able to remember a massive sea of gold from that weekend.

 

 Attendance and support from the students at a lot of athletic events can be hit or miss, but we have never disappointed when everything is on the line. The team needs us this weekend. Do whatever you need to get excited for the game – it is a Friday night after all – and get to the Spurlock Center tonight at 6 p.m.

 

IU may be terrible, the Pacers may never be good again, but we are two wins away from the national tournament. Let’s make it happen.