If you’re a St. John’s fan, this is the flip side. This is the result of compassion. How many Sundays with selections like this have come and gone over the past quarter century while I was doing something else other than listening to my nerves jingle again and again? ?
The last 48 hours have been some of the most difficult for sports fans in any sport. In all professional sports, it’s easy. If you win enough games, you qualify for the playoffs. period. Even in college football, another place where others decide your fate, only one or two teams a year know that they will be angry and hurt if they fall out of the bubble. Things may change now that it’s a 12 (or 14) team event, but last year only Florida State University could sue for robbery.
St. John’s and Johnnies fans have been sitting and waiting, doing nothing but letting things sink in since they left the Garden floor Friday night in a humiliating 95-90 loss to the Connecticut Huskies. did not become. That match was exactly that. There is nothing more they can do and there is no need for further discussion. Their case is complete. They appeared to have done enough by defeating Seton Hall on Thursday and also looked to have moved into the No. 10 seed line, meaning they could avoid Dayton.
But then they lost, several other teams won impossible games, and the topic of bid thievery became very real. Saturday night’s ACC final suddenly became very important to St. John’s fans. All wore Carolina blue. Because NC State suddenly became the favorite to win (the Chaminade Flyers won the championship, no matter where you turned, it was done!) thanks to an impossible shot by a guy named Michael O’Connell late Friday night.
There is no cure or cure for this. If you’re a St. John’s fan, you’ve likely played or participated in a variety of scenarios. They definitely feel sick thinking about the games they got away with, especially the Michigan game. A loss that didn’t seem so devastating when it happened now just jumps off the paper flashing in purple neon.
They’re definitely pretty familiar with the day-to-day (and now hourly) thoughts of Joe Lunardi, Jerry Palm, and Michael Decourcy, perhaps three of the most trusted of bracketologists.
And from my own past, the years when the St. Bonaventure Bonnies had to struggle through the selections on Sunday eve, none of these analysts, good as they are, personally you I know it’s impossible to tell Johnny’s fans that I’m not personally invested in ruining their day (or brightening it, for that matter). They are making educated guesses. Usually they get a lot of things right.
Usually they make one or two mistakes.
All is moot on Sunday evening, but when the dogs are on the hunt and teams are in the bubble, it’s the longest wait in sports. It’s exhilarating, exhausting, uplifting, and soul crushing. All-nighters like this have been far too rare over the past few decades, especially for a team like St. John’s.
Last time, in 2019, the team gathered in the vent hall and nervously watched the show, waiting an excruciating 32 minutes to see their names. They were literally the last team chosen in the lottery. The message “St. John’s” appeared on the screen and the roar could be heard from Washington Heights to Montauk Point. The relief was palpable. The Johnnies have been a last-place team once before — in 1979, when they were 40th out of 40 teams and almost made it to the Final Four, when they lost to Penn. Defeated.
This is a reminder. If you participate, anything is possible. But first you have to go in. And what we’re waiting for is… well… Tom Petty was right.
Wack’s Wack
After watching the documentary “Dynasty” about the Patriots, it is clear that the producers evaluated the team’s success in the following order: 1) Robert Kraft. 2) Tom Brady. 869) Bill Belichick.
A pretty eclectic group gathering on April 14th to honor Doc Gooden’s 16-year-old retirement. Kevin Mitchell and Howard Johnson of the 1986 Mets. CC Sabathia and Mickey Rivers. Even Yankees fan Chazz Palminteri pointed it out. Mitchell says: “I was always bored playing the outfield when Doc pitched. I couldn’t do anything because he struck out everyone.”
What is the difference between ace and non-ace? Gerrit Cole: “Give me the ball.” Marcus Stroman: “Give me the ball…Day 3.”
Watching the welterweight bout between Dan Hurley and Rick Pitino on Friday night, Big East nostalgic people like me shed a tear and immediately channeled Bowling for Soup and watched “1985.” I started knocking out poems.
hit back vac
Mike Sullivan: Johnny’s has regained its reputation. Greatness to follow?
vacuum: Indeed, I think they will be part of the conversation every March for the foreseeable future.
Richard Siegelman: As vice president, does Aaron Rodgers have the right to issue an executive order prohibiting opposing linemen from removing him on Sunday, the 17th Sunday he will be on vacation as the Jets quarterback?
vacuum: That may be the only way Rodgers makes it through 17 games as a Jet.
Michael Hull 59591: Unfortunately, St. John’s plays ugly ball, unlike the beautiful, hard-working Kentucky teams led by Rick Pitino in the early-to-mid 90s. St. John’s hasn’t proven anything yet.
@Mike Vac: The great Tim Capstraw once said this when he was at Wagner and was in charge of some of the national power. “They have McDonald’s All-Americans. Some people eat at McDonald’s.”
Tony Giamatta: Tiki Barber’s comments about Berkeley are hard to swallow. You can add this to Tiki’s greatest hits. He stabbed Eli in the front instead of the back when he publicly questioned Eli’s leadership qualities early in his career.
vacuum: Apparently Tiki could have replaced Patton Oswalt in the movie The Big Fun a few years ago. Did anyone know?
