Big Red Pride

I should have written about this back in March when it happened, but I wasn't really writing at the time and I never ended up doing it. If you can recall, the Cornell Big Red, my alma mater, shocked most of the basketball world by winning their two opening round games to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. This is the first time the team made it that far, in fact, Cornell had never won a game in the NCAA tournament prior to this year.

As luck would have it, the Red were seeded in the Eastern Regional. The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games in the Eastern regional were slated to take place in Syracuse, NY.

I did not expect to be able to attend the game. I knew that tickets for the regional went on sale a year earlier and although I had considered buying a pair, I ended up deciding not to spend the money. Early rumors were that the game was a sellout. I figured that with a local team playing on top of the sellout, it would be next to impossible to find a ticket for a price I was willing to spend.

I wound up getting a notice from the Cornell alumni club of Central New York that there was an alumni pep-rally for the team the day before on the Syracuse campus downtown. I dragged Marissa to go with me. It ended up being something of an interesting affair. It was mostly filled with the type of people I try to avoid, but everyone was friendly enough. The team was late, so we had a chance to enjoy the buffet and cash bar. For a free buffet, it was a pretty good selection. Then the team showed up.

They clearly weren't used to people paying attention to them. Most of the home games at Newman arena were sellouts, true. But the "arena", which is more like a gym, only holds a few thousand people. The only times I stepped on the court when I was at Cornell were for kickboxing class and to pick up my diploma in my College of Human Ecology specific ceremony.

Coach Donahue gave a nice talk, thanked everyone for coming and then it was over. Just like that.

I didn't realize it ahead of time but I was pretty happy to be there. I was proud of my school for making it that far in the tournament and for having the country cheer for them to beat the vaunted #1 seed Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky ended up having the #1 overall draft pick in the 2010 NBA draft, John Wall... as well as a few other picks in the first round. Cornell was really playing a heavy favorite.

I went home that evening and noticed that single game tickets were available on Ticketmaster for $80. The price covered both games (West Virginia/Washington) as well. If Cornell somehow managed to beat Kentucky, an additional $80 would be necessary for the Regional Final. I jumped all over the ticket and off I was.

I ended up leaving work early that day and heading over to the Carrier Dome, by way of a park and ride that took an inordinate amount of time. What I noticed when I got to the SkyTop lot was that Kentucky travels very well. There were a LOT of fans decked out in UK blue all over the lot and on my bus to the arena. I ended up sitting with a very nice older gentleman who attended many of the Big Red games this year with his wife. He seemed very happy to be there. So was I.

I got to my seats very early and watched the first game, which was a bit of a snoozer. Kentucky/Cornell didn't tip until 10:00PM eastern time, so I knew that I was in for a long night. West Virginia handily beat Washington in front of a half full arena. And I had thought that I wasn't going to be able to get tickets.

But by the end of the 2nd half of that game, the place started filling up. And there was a lot of Red.

As luck would have it, I ended up behind the Cornell band in sort of a defacto Cornell Student section. Which thrilled me greatly. However, apart from the UK section, it was a very partisan crowd for Cornell. As for the UK fans, they were small in number but quiet. And they had Ashley Judd, who was in the building for the game. I only saw her from a distance, but she looked as pretty in person as she does on TV. Which is to say quite a bit. So good for UK for having that, but screw them... I was there for my school.

Cornell jumped out to an early lead. I lost my mind. So did many others. I lost my voice and didn't get it back until the next day. I was convinced that I was witnessing a colossal upset. It was a feeling something like euphoria. Then Kentucky remembered they were the #1 overall seed going into the tournament and started schooling Cornell bad. I'd say it got hard to watch, but that would be a lie. Cornell never went away. They never got so far behind that a comeback seemed out of range.

And then in the second half, they stormed back. Getting within two possessions on a Louis Dale stepback three, myself and a few thousand others lost our minds for a minute. It was one of the best sporting moments I'd ever witnessed in the flesh. In fact, it was clearly the best. Kentucky then kicked into another gear, with soon-to-be-#1 John Wall practically jumping out of the gym for some monster dunks. And it was over.

Cornell had come so very close, but were defeated by the clearly superior team. I was disappointed, sure, but I made the long slow walk back to the bus with a giant smile on my face. Cornell athletics just had its most relevant, most important in my lifetime. Most likely will remain so when my children are old enough to go to college.

I have a secret hope that my children will attend Cornell and follow in my footsteps. I didn't appreciate it while I was there but once away from Ithaca I realize how much I loved it, how much it improved me as a person, and how proud I am to be a member of the Big Red Family. And now, forever, I will have a story for my kids that starts out with "You know, you might not believe this, but once upon a time Cornell played in the Sweet 16 and I was there..."

I can see them rolling their eyes already.