Post by PoolBully on Mar 12, 2017 23:51:04 GMT -5
I was trying to pick the right forum to rant. Twitter has too many limitations and Facebook just gets bunches of thumbs-ups. So this one seems perfect.
Anyone who knows the actual asshole behind the Pool Bully knows that I've let myself lapse into hate-watching IU basketball. I don't know when or how it started. I was once as die-hard as anyone and every game was must-see TV. I made an effort to get down to the Hall a couple times a year.
But something changed. At some point I got more and more of a glimpse into the lunatic fringe of the fan base. Be it on Peegs or Twitter or other sources, I started to see the level of fans who all claimed to have insider info. The guys who were never satisfied with any outcome of any game or season. The guys who legitimately called for the Board of Trustees to be removed because Stanford Robinson missed a free throw.
It clicked something that lives on some weird strand of DNA that runs through me. I thought "I can never care nor love something so much that it brings me that level of misery. But since you have that relationship with something I also love, then my only choice is to hope it fails and breaks your heart forever."
Ok, ok, ok ... it wasn't that weird or psychotic. But I did find myself caring less because others cared too much. I don't hinge my happiness and identity on wins or losses and found myself enjoying the online meltdowns after losses more than the wins.
So this season kicked off with some promise. Maybe 2-3 legit first round NBA draft picks on the squad along with a deep bench and talented recruiting class. At worst, I was thinking this was a top 2-3 team in the conference and maybe a squad capable of a tourney run.
I should've learned to never, ever, EVER have hope with anything regarding IU basketball EVER!
Anyway, a strong start turned into some speed bumps and injuries and regressions and disappointments. But, despite it all, I thought the guys played with a bit of spunk at the end and though an NCAA tourney bid wasn't in the cards, maybe they could go win a few NIT games and get some guys prepped for next year. I even thought "maybe I'll wander down and get a ticket for the first round game -- they should be plentiful."
So, assuming you've been paying attention, you know IU opted to NOT accept a first round home game in the NIT, choosing to instead travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech on their home floor. They offered an excuse of not having students on campus due to spring break, so they wouldn't have a crowd.
As noted, I don't let myself get mad about IU basketball. I have too many great things in life to let my mood get dragged down on whether a coddled 20-year-old can hit a jumper. But this decision has me pretty pissed off. Here's why:
1.) It's a bullshit excuse - yes, there would likely be a lousy crowd there, probably closer to 5k than 10k. But that can't be the only factor that went into the decision. Was it money? Was it staffing? Did you not want to risk embarrassment? If it's the latter, you fucked up because this decision is way more embarrassing than a small crowd.
2.) It just shows they weren't even preparing. At some point, the dept. should've been planning as if an NIT game was coming to Bloomington. They could've figured out ways to combat a crowd issue and maybe make it a fun event. Had volunteer staff on the ready. Etc.
3.) Playing off the point above, they could've made it a fun, unique event. Run it like they run the women's games - sell tix GA for $10. Make it cash only at the door. Pop and sell popcorn in the lobby. Drag out every hackneyed 'Hoosier Hysteria' motif you can dig up and roll it out. Try to get a bunch of kids on the baselines and behind the benches. Sure, save the good seats for the grumpy alumni and season ticket holders. But just try to make the night something people who maybe normally don't get to go to games can come be part of. Act like you're not running a program just to please five-figure donors and out-of-state students in banana costumes.
4.) It's a "fuck you" to anyone who may have been interested in attending. Seriously. 20-year-old 2-guards make bad decisions on the court that don't bug me. No one said the sport was easy. Coaches make bad decisions that don't make me so mad. It's hard to herd cats successfully every year. But when a bunch of administrators make a decision like this, it tells me they're serving some other entity than the people supporting the program. The counterargument is they have to make the decision that's in the best interest of the university. That's fine if that's the case here, but they need to come up with something better than "sorry, y'all, spring break and shit."
Note - I'm not even dragging the coaching thing into this discussion other than to say I ain't mad at coaches. The current guy can stay or go. I'm not convinced a change will improve or hurt the program. Based on today's move, though, I'm positive whatever choice the AD makes will be wrong.
In summary, the kids who worked hard to try to cobble something of a season together don't deserve to lose. The coaches who do their job with a lunatic fringe of fans breathing down their neck don't deserve to lose. But the administration that overthinks what should be a simple choice, overcomplicates the most basic decision in the world. and creates controversy in an effort to prevent it, deserves to lose.
Final prediction:
IU - 66
Some weird ACC version of Purdue - 74
Anyone who knows the actual asshole behind the Pool Bully knows that I've let myself lapse into hate-watching IU basketball. I don't know when or how it started. I was once as die-hard as anyone and every game was must-see TV. I made an effort to get down to the Hall a couple times a year.
But something changed. At some point I got more and more of a glimpse into the lunatic fringe of the fan base. Be it on Peegs or Twitter or other sources, I started to see the level of fans who all claimed to have insider info. The guys who were never satisfied with any outcome of any game or season. The guys who legitimately called for the Board of Trustees to be removed because Stanford Robinson missed a free throw.
It clicked something that lives on some weird strand of DNA that runs through me. I thought "I can never care nor love something so much that it brings me that level of misery. But since you have that relationship with something I also love, then my only choice is to hope it fails and breaks your heart forever."
Ok, ok, ok ... it wasn't that weird or psychotic. But I did find myself caring less because others cared too much. I don't hinge my happiness and identity on wins or losses and found myself enjoying the online meltdowns after losses more than the wins.
So this season kicked off with some promise. Maybe 2-3 legit first round NBA draft picks on the squad along with a deep bench and talented recruiting class. At worst, I was thinking this was a top 2-3 team in the conference and maybe a squad capable of a tourney run.
I should've learned to never, ever, EVER have hope with anything regarding IU basketball EVER!
Anyway, a strong start turned into some speed bumps and injuries and regressions and disappointments. But, despite it all, I thought the guys played with a bit of spunk at the end and though an NCAA tourney bid wasn't in the cards, maybe they could go win a few NIT games and get some guys prepped for next year. I even thought "maybe I'll wander down and get a ticket for the first round game -- they should be plentiful."
So, assuming you've been paying attention, you know IU opted to NOT accept a first round home game in the NIT, choosing to instead travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech on their home floor. They offered an excuse of not having students on campus due to spring break, so they wouldn't have a crowd.
As noted, I don't let myself get mad about IU basketball. I have too many great things in life to let my mood get dragged down on whether a coddled 20-year-old can hit a jumper. But this decision has me pretty pissed off. Here's why:
1.) It's a bullshit excuse - yes, there would likely be a lousy crowd there, probably closer to 5k than 10k. But that can't be the only factor that went into the decision. Was it money? Was it staffing? Did you not want to risk embarrassment? If it's the latter, you fucked up because this decision is way more embarrassing than a small crowd.
2.) It just shows they weren't even preparing. At some point, the dept. should've been planning as if an NIT game was coming to Bloomington. They could've figured out ways to combat a crowd issue and maybe make it a fun event. Had volunteer staff on the ready. Etc.
3.) Playing off the point above, they could've made it a fun, unique event. Run it like they run the women's games - sell tix GA for $10. Make it cash only at the door. Pop and sell popcorn in the lobby. Drag out every hackneyed 'Hoosier Hysteria' motif you can dig up and roll it out. Try to get a bunch of kids on the baselines and behind the benches. Sure, save the good seats for the grumpy alumni and season ticket holders. But just try to make the night something people who maybe normally don't get to go to games can come be part of. Act like you're not running a program just to please five-figure donors and out-of-state students in banana costumes.
4.) It's a "fuck you" to anyone who may have been interested in attending. Seriously. 20-year-old 2-guards make bad decisions on the court that don't bug me. No one said the sport was easy. Coaches make bad decisions that don't make me so mad. It's hard to herd cats successfully every year. But when a bunch of administrators make a decision like this, it tells me they're serving some other entity than the people supporting the program. The counterargument is they have to make the decision that's in the best interest of the university. That's fine if that's the case here, but they need to come up with something better than "sorry, y'all, spring break and shit."
Note - I'm not even dragging the coaching thing into this discussion other than to say I ain't mad at coaches. The current guy can stay or go. I'm not convinced a change will improve or hurt the program. Based on today's move, though, I'm positive whatever choice the AD makes will be wrong.
In summary, the kids who worked hard to try to cobble something of a season together don't deserve to lose. The coaches who do their job with a lunatic fringe of fans breathing down their neck don't deserve to lose. But the administration that overthinks what should be a simple choice, overcomplicates the most basic decision in the world. and creates controversy in an effort to prevent it, deserves to lose.
Final prediction:
IU - 66
Some weird ACC version of Purdue - 74
