And for nearly three hours on Saturday night, I was a big-time fan--actually, a quiet cheerleader--for the Duke women's basketball team.
The Blue Devils bowed out 121-120 to Alabama in four overtimes in the NCAA tournament East Regional second-round game.
It was, simply put, the best basketball game--no, make that the best sporting event--I have ever been a part of. I have never before seen such prolonged drama, such sustained intensity and excitement. By the fourth overtime, I was drained, both physically (it was getting awfully hard to keep taking notes) and emotionally, because the game had been such a crazy up-and-down ride.
Now can you imagine how the players felt, some of whom played well over 50 minutes?
For sheer drama in the short term, the Blue Devils' massive come-from-behind win over Virginia in this year's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament might rival the Duke-Alabama game. And the Duke-Kentucky men's basketball game in 1992 was an equally splendid show, but I didn't see that one first-hand. Also, it "only" went to one overtime.
In all honesty, as a senior who has now seen his last basketball game as a student, this is the one I will always remember, probably more than any other. Everybody saw the Kentucky game, and the highlights are still shown on television all the time. So while the Duke-Alabama women's game was played in front of only 1,966 fans and no TV audience, that only added to its beauty.
Each one of those fans, writers and players walked out of Coleman Coliseum with some rare, valuable memories forever etched in their minds.
First and foremost, I will always remember the class and character that the Blue Devils showed in defeat. They say that athletes show their true colors only when they lose. And as the drained and devastated Duke players hung around patiently and good-naturedly answering questions for a few media folks still stuttering in disbelief, their true colors showed brightly.
This team has gone from an ACC cellar-dweller two years ago to one of the most entertaining teams in the country. It has been a dramatic climb, and the fact that it culminated in a second-round NCAA loss was wholly insignificant.
For third-year head coach Gail Goestenkors, the idea that this unique group would not be able to play any more games together was the toughest part of the loss. For the underclassmen, there will be more games and more success, but for the four seniors--Carey Kauffman, Kristina Meiman, Susan Brandau and Zeki Blanding--this was it.
"I told [the players] the saddest thing about this game was that it's the last game our team will play together," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "We've had great team chemistry and great leadership from our seniors. Many of them have been asked to sacrifice a great deal of playing time, because we've had some younger players come in and gain starting roles. And they've always accepted their roles, and I think that's what's helped us to become such a great team.
"I'm going to miss the personality, the pride, the heart and the class of this team."
And it was not just the coach talking like this. The players felt the same way.
"This was just a great, awesome team to be with this year, and none of us wanted this season to be over with," said sophomore forward Tyish Hall, who fouled out in the first overtime and then had the painful job of cheering her teammates on from the bench. "But we'd rather to have gone out this way than to go out playing horribly."
The game itself was exciting from the outset. It was one that should not be remembered simply for its length, and in fact, if it had ended in regulation--if Alabama superstar Niesa Johnson hadn't hit a desperation, leaning 24-footer with two seconds left to tie it--the game would still have gone down as a classic.
During one stretch in the second half where the teams continued to trade baskets, an Associated Press writer turned to me and remarked, "You know, I haven't seen that many women's basketball games, but I've never seen anything like this. What an unbelievable basketball game."
The fact that the high-paced, exciting play continued for 60 minutes made it all the more remarkable. The coaches had no problem agreeing on that fact.
"My congratulations go out to Duke because they were obviously well-prepared and they played their hearts out," Alabama head coach Rick Moody said. "And I also want to congratulate our players for having the guts and the determination and the mentality to stick with it until it finally got done. It was an incredible experience."
Said Goestenkors, "When you talk about the fact that we only went six or seven [players] deep, and they've got a deeper bench than we do, I had to ask our kids to give a bit little more. I'm sure they were fatigued. But I don't think it showed, because they were playing on guts. I think both teams showed a great of fortitude, just a great deal of guts just to be able to dig deep and give everything they had."
Both teams clearly outperformed the officials, as there were some questionable calls that helped decide the game. But discussing that would take away from what the players did, so I'll avoid doing that.
The players were the story of this game. It was impossible not to be impressed by the athleticism and mental toughness of the Crimson Tide, and their fans acknowledged that after the game with a rousing ovation. But when the Blue Devils left the court, after they had shaken hands with their opponents and had shed a few tears, they were also treated to an appreciative round of applause from the home crowd.
The 1994-95 Blue Devils finished their best-ever season at 22-9 overall. They will not win the national championship, and they will not even reach the Sweet 16.
But for everyone who saw the team play last Saturday night, the Blue Devils will always be remembered as true winners.
For all of you who didn't see the game, just take this reporter/cheerleader's word for it.
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