(The Blog Formerly Known as "Countdown to 30" and "30 is the New Twenty")

Monday, March 26, 2007

The Final Four that never happened

I was just reading the strib online when I stumbled upon an article about the 1996-1997 Gophers Men's basketball team that made it all the way to the Final Four and then had it erased from everyone's memory after a variety of infractions by Clem Haskins that ranged from paying players off in the bathroom to paying tutor to write papers.

I can't believe that happened ten years ago. Wow..... it seems like only yesterday. I was such a huge fan. My roommate and I had season tickets. I was there when they won the Big Ten title. I remember watching the Final Four game at home in WI with my parents and my grandparents. I think it was Spring Break. It was right after my mom got sick. My poor mom. Not only was she recovering from surgery, she had my to endure a weekend of basketball with the superfans. My mom was not that into basketball, but she had this amazing gift of being able to hold her own in any conversation on basketball. I don't know how she did it. She came across as being so well-versed on basketball.

Like the good fans that we were, we all wore our Gophers apparel. What is quite funny is I don't remember much about the actual game. I know that they lost and that the game was so close my Grandma had to hide in the kitchen during the last couple of minutes (she was too nervous to watch.) But beyond, that about all I recall is spending time with my family. And being so upset when they lost. Looking back, it just seems so silly and trivial. It was just a game. I guess I was only 18. The silly and trivial frequently upset me back then. Not anymore.





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