DI Sports Wrap-Up

I probably take sports a little too seriously sometimes.

Watching a game with me can be a strange experience. I yell loudly. I get frustrated. I have violent mood swings — angry at a bone-headed play one moment only to be elated seconds later if my team does something to make it all better. I’ve even been known to throw a remote or two.

I’m not writing this column on the terms I thought I would be. Sadly, Illinois being excluded from the NCAA Tournament burst my bubble. Yes, you did read that right. I did just make that extremely lame pun.

The point of the NCAA Tournament, as I understand it, is to determine the best team in college basketball. I’m far from a NCAA committee member, but I am logical in this thought: To be the best, you have to beat the best. In no way am I saying they’re the best, but our Illini have beaten many of the best.

INDIANAPOLIS -- For a while there, it seemed Illinois was the kid standing against the loser wall at the high school prom, dreading each oncoming girl. Maybe Illinois didn’t know how, maybe it was self-conscious, maybe it would crumble under the pressure.