The sound of a loud horn brought the game to an end. April 6th, 1992. The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Michigan Wolverines 71-51 to win their second straight NCAA championship. And, of course, I knew it was coming. You may scoff, but I knew Duke was going to win long before the season even began. Amazing, isn't it? Perhaps you're wondering how could I have such insight. Well it's really very simple. I just look in my dresser drawer. Perhaps I should explain.
You see, ever since I was young, I have been collecting T-shirts, sweat-shirts, posters, and all kinds of other paraphernalia from various NCAA schools. In the back of my mind was the thought was that once a team made it big, I could bask in the glory of wearing clothing from a winning team (something us native Seattle fans aren't very accustomed too.) Over the years I purchased many items from various schools, but my hopes were never quite realized. Invariably, the teams would suffer tragic losses and the corresponding clothing that I owned would be stuffed into the bottom drawer of my dresser for the months of April, May, and June. Three months usually gave people enough time to forget. Then, I could begin to wear the clothes again as hopes for next season began to surface.
Now, many years and many more T-shirts later, I have come to the painful realization that my ownership of any item bearing the name of a school is the kiss of death for that school's athletic program. I must apologize to the schools, I know it's all my fault. Indeed, my dresser drawer contains the fate of intercollegiate athletics.
How bad is it? Well let me put it this way: if it weren't for plain T-shirts, I might be going around topless. My Syracuse shirt was one of the first to go, along with Louisville, Georgetown, LSU, Kansas and others. All of these were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. None of them really had a chance, because they were under a DOUBLE CURSE! Not only had I purchased shirts from them, but I had even visited their campuses!!! They were DOOMED! Yes, even Kansas, who was the top-ranked school in their division. All eliminated in the blink of an eye. And who were they being beaten by? Teams like the University of Texas El-Paso, Florida State, and others who would be subsequently eliminated in the following round. These kamikaze teams would struggle to beat the contenders, beat them, and then get blown out of the water by the next team they met.
Alas, there were a few teams that snuck by. But they would be caught up with soon enough. Georgia Tech was beaten by Memphis State in the Midwest Regionals. They might have snuck by, but I had both a T-shirt AND a sweat-shirt from them, thus ending their streak. Meanwhile, number one ranked Ohio State beat North Carolina. They were a particularly tough nut to crack, but since I had a great shirt from the Ohio State Randy Ayers basketball camp I knew it was only a matter of time. Sure enough, they were beaten by Michigan in the Final Eight. Meanwhile, UCLA was taking the West by storm. Despite my beautiful UCLA Bruins T-shirt, they were still determined to win. Apparently they thought they could beat the system. They played as if they actually thought they could escape the inescapable. For their arrogance, they were dealt with severely. Their humiliating 106-79 loss to Indiana will no doubt keep my shirt in the drawer a few weeks longer than expected.
At last, there were only four teams: Duke, Indiana, Michigan, and Cincinnati. Since I did not have shirts from ANY of the teams, the outcome of the games was more difficult to decide. I read a book on Bob Knight and the Hoosiers, so they were out. I knew Cincinnati would loose because I have friends from Ohio. And so finally, on April 6th, we were down to the championship--the final game of Duke versus Michigan. Picking the winner there was easier. Since I subscribe to Sports Illustrated and they picked Michigan to win it all, I knew, unequivocally that Duke would have to win. And sure enough, they did. Their victory made them the first team in 19 years to have back-to-back championship seasons. I just hope they know who to thank for it.