Confessions of a Basketball Junkie

As usual this blog is starting with an idea, or better yet ideas. There are things I know. I'm not sure how they're connected other than a little round ball, 94 feet of wood, and a passion that runs as deep inside me as any passion I've ever had.

I've got a disease. It's called basketball-itis. Actually I don't have a clue what the hell it's called but it's not a simple addiction. It's not a deal where I have to watch basketball or I go nuts.

Believe it or not I'm not one to watch a random Montana St vs Wyoming A&M game just because it's on. I have this thing called a life that says go do something else.

That being said, for the teams I have an investment in, specifically both MTSU teams that have my school written across their chest, I cannot put into words how much each game effects me.  However if I don't try the blog would end here.  So here it goes.

First let's get this out of the way: there are more important things than basketball.  If I have something else going on or am with someone to whom the games don't matter I won't let my internal (and at times external) strife effect them. That's not fair to them. However because of the dates and times of basketball games, the times that I actually have something to do after a game are rare. Thus here is what usually happens.

The best way I can describe how I feel is a mix between a fan and a coach.  After a win, I'm going to be in a good mood, but never too high (unless it's following a championship, see New Orleans Bowl). I'm able to go, OK, we won, but here's what we need to work on.  But at the same time I'm excited for the win and I usually have a pretty good idea of how much a particular win means.  For instance I was much more excited (ok, I was straight giddy) after both Western Kentucky wins, while I was happy but tame after the win against New Orleans.

Losses however are quite the different story.

Forget the fan-side. I take losses like a coach.

College basketball is the ultimate what-if sport because you're dealing with players who are 18-22 years old.

What if a player had played been aggressive in the second half like he was in the first.

What if a player who was on fire in the first half hadn't been completely silent in the second?

Especially in the Sun Belt, where the officiating is a bigger joke than Paris Hilton's singing career, what if the refs knew a difference between a block and a charge?

The list of what-if's goes on and on but that's only the start of it.

Fans ask what if? Coaches ask why?

That's where my dilemma lies, I want to, no have to, know why.  I'm writing this less than an hour after MTSU dropped a game it easily could have had at home against Troy.  If the Blue Raiders won that game they would have been in the driver's seat in their division.

Instead they played a game reminiscent of their early season form where they were up and down and paying attention to details here and there would have completely changed the game.

Instead they had multiple mental lapses and lost by 3.

There will be another blog soon (like tomorrow) with the list of things that could have changed, but I'm not there yet and that's not this blog.  What happens to me now?

First I write things down. That's done for two reasons.

1) When things are down on paper, they're no longer swirling in my head.
2) I can remember what was swirling in my head when I try to talk about it on radio.

Then I try to sleep.

Keyword try.  I'm restless. And when I finally do sleep I literally sleep basketball.  Plays are re-running in my head.  I wake up, try to go back to sleep, finally do, and fall right back into the game.

I wake up in the morning and basketball is still there.  Does it wear off eventually? Sure.

Thursday games are easier because the girls play Saturday and with the way they're playing right now they can instantly put me in a good mood.

I have a disease. I don't know what it's called. But it's serious. And I don't know what to do about it. And I don't really care.