Tuesday, April 5, 2011

It's Root Root For…

C and R asked who Stanford fans were going to root for in the Women’s Championship game. Let’s go to the ol mail bag to see what people said, shall we?
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Hi C and R:
The only way I have been able to feel better is to declare the two upsets a victory for women's basketball and celebrate the fresh faces coming in to the final game.
Let's face it, Notre Dame owes a debt of gratitude to Stanford for showing them that UConn could be beat and how to do it.  How many times did Muffet McGraw watch that game film for ideas and inspiration?  She seems like a good coach and a good person.  If she wins, let's hope she calls Tara to tell her thanks.
I guess, if pushed, I am rooting for Notre Dame, only because I am becoming more gender biased in my old age and I know that over 50% of Div. I women's teams are now coached by men and it would be nice to see a woman take home the prize.  That being said, the Texas A&M kids seem really neat and they played wonderful defense against our beloved team (trust me-- it pains me to say it), so if they win, it would be well deserved.  You have to credit them with coming out so strong in the regionals against Baylor, their home town oppressor.
Sigh.
TH
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After much consideration and deliberation, I'm rooting for Notre Dame  tonight. Too much chest bumping from the Aggies for my liking.  I know it's better to lose to the eventual winner but I'm still mad at them for beating Stanford.
ML
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I’ll be rooting for the Aggies
It’s little consolation to be able to say you lost to the national champions, but A&M’s run is a good story, Gary Blair seems like a good guy, and I generally root against Notre Dame no matter the sport (Sunday night against UConn excluded). Skylar Diggins is one heck of a player. The men’s championship game certainly isn’t a tough act to follow.
SA, From Rule of Tree
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I left Indy on Monday am. Don't care about final so much, but will cheer for ND because Diggins/Wiggins are friends, and I'm not a fan of A&M's 'style" of bball.
 M
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Getting over it
The nice thing about losses like this are that in 15 or 20 years, the pain will subside and we'll hardly even think about it anymore.  Like that awful overtime loss to Old Dominion in 1997, Nicole Powell hitting the front iron on a three that would have beat Tennessee in 2004, Candice Wiggins getting called for charging into Seimone Augustus in 2006 as Krista Rappahahn swished what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer, Tennessee breaking us with pressure in 2008 when in looked like it was our year, Jayne's ankle in 2010.... 

Almost never bothers me anymore!

I guess it's the nature of the sport - even with 4 straight years in the Final Four, unless you win it all, the whole season - 33-3, the win over UConn, undefeated Pac-10 season, Regional championship - somehow feels like a colossal failure! (It isn't).

And, you know, I'm already starting to think that next year is looking very bright...
TG
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who am I rooting for?
I'm rooting for A&M. They were staying at my hotel in Indianapolis and could not have been more pleasant. They made it a point to say "hello" as they passed in the hall. When I wished them good luck (maybe I shouldn't have now that I think about it), they were so gracious. At their pep rally, you could really see the excitement about their first Final Four. They shook hands with fans and their coach spoke about what a class act he wanted everyone to be…"no booing in the stands," he said. I attended the Stanford pep rally also. I was surprised by how bored they seemed about it all. The committee was there cheering Stanford on as they arrived. The only time the team smiled was for the team picture. I was so excited to see them and called out to Chiney. She looked up and practically glared at me. I was so surprised by this. I left very disappointed in my team, but still rooting for them on Sunday. Perhaps they were just giving off their "focused" vibe. Still, it came off wrong and I felt sorry for the committee for all the work they put into the event. I will say that Melanie Murphy seemed to be the most pleasant of the bunch. She posed for pictures and took several herself.
MR
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Ouch that last part of the final letter hurt, but maybe it needs to be pointed out, it’s not an automatic to go to the final four every year…

Well, congrats to Texas A & M. Now we can say Stanford lost to the champs. C and R still rooted for Notre Dame and Skylar Diggins. Every time they said, “Diggins makes a play,” we kept hearing “Wiggins”, as in Candice Wiggins. Brought but a flood of memories, so we know what TG means when he says, facetiously, the pain goes away and no one remembers the errors.

Looking forward to next year.
C and R

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