When Da'Seann Butler got hurt during the game last night I stopped caring about the outcome. All I could think about was Butler and how proud I am of my alma mater and the way they carried themselves all season. WVU isn't really supposed to play in final fours or win Big East championships, but they did. A win over Duke would have been sweet, but I think that moment when Butler was lying on the floor with Bob Huggins face to face with him showed people more about what it means to be a Mountaineer and to believe in what it means to love West Virginia than any victory would have. We are always the underdog and because of that we seem to care just a little more about each other. A win would have been great, but I will never forget this season and I will never forget seeing a coach care for his player in front of the world like I did last night.
After Butler lay on the court in obvious pain for a few minutes, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins walked onto the floor. After chirping at officials, Huggins leaned over his player until they were nearly nose-to-nose. Huggins appeared to wipe a tear from Butler's cheek. "I was just apologizing because I wanted to win it for him, too," Butler said. "Don't be sorry," Huggins told him. "I love ya." The scene was one of the more emotional moments in recent NCAA tournament history. A star player crumbling to the floor and his volatile coach helping pick him up. "I'm not surprised," Butler said. "That's my coach. He's like a father to me. It's something we expect him to do. Maybe everyone else didn't, but we're all a family and we love each other."
Best moment of the tournament was something that didn't happen as part of the play. A remarkable scene.
The fact that it happened during a loss reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D13-QS5eQMM
The Orioles that year, in the great manager Earl Weaver's announced final season, made a remarkable late season run and nearly caught the Milwaukee Brewers. They didn't, lost it on that final game. But the crowd's reaction, the emotion, was remarkable.
Why this reminded me of last night is because both events were memorable, historic moments in that team's lore, but both occurred in the face of a loss. Interesting lessons to be found.
Posted by: JamieOber | 04/04/2010 at 12:46 PM
Very tough moments to witness; a class young man with a big future in front of him in the NBA in one moment and in a flash, it's gone. Anyone who has played felt this to their bone.
AND...only in the Duke-loving NCAA can a guy's knee buckle, he falls and they call an offensive foul on him, giving the ball to Duke. One more reason to hate Duke...
Posted by: Matt Meyer | 04/04/2010 at 02:31 PM
Hi Cole,
Many folks in STNY are Syracuse and Wes Johnson fans as am I. But after Syracuse lost I started rooting for Butler University and the Moutaineers. Congrats to WVU for a great season! Really like this article about Butler (the man) http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-butler040210 .
Cheers,
Joe Fahs
Posted by: Joe Fahs | 04/04/2010 at 07:31 PM