I'm sad today. I made a key mistake last night that led to this. I let myself hope and believe in Towson basketball. While the mistake isn't specific to Towson, they just happened to be the team that was in a position for me to buy into. I mentioned during football season that hope is a dangerous drug, and I let myself relapse.
Being a fan of DMV sports teams, I'm used to disappointment, especially since I'm not attached to the Nationals (Orioles instead) and their recent world series win, or the Ravens (Commanders... God that sucks to type) and their Super bowls. I've built up a pretty strong mental wall to protect myself from ongoing soul crushing feelings as a result of this; but sometimes, a crack appears in the wall.
Towson won their conference in the regular season. They were the top seed in their conference tournament and were the favorite to take the title and make it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in my lifetime. I may not have paid much attention to Towson growing up, but once I signed on to go to school there, I was all in. I was saved from going to the disastrous FCS title game that Towson was in due to a jaw surgery, and even though I was watching at home, I took a pain killer at halftime and slept through the rest of the game. Yesterday, I had nothing to distract me from the basketball game. I was home, on my couch, ready to go; only problem was I was apparently the only one ready to go.
8-23 shooting in the first half isn't going to cut it no matter who you're playing. It's even worse when you're letting Jameer Nelson Jr. and the entirety of Delaware run roughshod on you when they're on offense. Towson wasn't ready to go, and they looked mentally broken from the opening tip. I was ready to call it quits and just accept it as something I could see coming, but then they came out strong in the second half.
The problem for me was when Towson got the game down to two. At that point, I had bought in. The comeback was on. We were about to repeat what we had done just a week ago to Delaware. Towson was going to take their rival and give them yet another kick in the crotch by ending their season. But this time, Delaware hung on, and built their lead back up to ultimately win by 13. Game. Set. Match. Disappointment was the word of the night. My soul was crushed. I let myself believe, and it came back to cost me.
Hope is a dangerous drug, as I've already said. Last night was one of the worst nights I've felt in regards to my sports fandom. The only thing I have to reconcile last night is that I can at least be comfortable saying I've never willingly lived or gone to school in Delaware, so at least I have a level of relevancy in my life.
Is that harsh? Maybe. Do I care? No. Fuck Delaware, we'll be back.
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