Deadspin
We don't mean to overstate this, but Saturday was a disappointing an evening for college basketball as we can remember. It's not just that George Mason lost to Florida, or even that they lost so convincingly. Their legend had been secured simply by making it to Indianapolis at all; any mid-major who makes the Sweet 16 for the next 10 years will be asked if they can "pull a George Mason."
But this has been as exciting a tournament as we can remember, pretty much every round, every day, every timeslot, every game. But both GMU-Florida and LSU-UCLA were bland, depressing blowouts, difficult to watch after halftime. That we would have come so far for so little seemed wrong, incongruous, some sort of cosmic cheat. That the ratings — insert usual "Neilsen ratings are pointless and outdated" disclaimer here — for the Patriots-Gators game were down eight percent from last year's Illinois-Louisville game somehow dented the story more; maybe people weren't as caught up in this as we thought.
But at least we had a Sunday evening baseball game. Baseball! That will cheer us! Oh. A three-hour rain delay. Nevermind. At least we'll catch the score on SportsCenter in the morning. What? Is that Stuart Scott doing another poetry slam? Aw ...
It's a difficult morning to be in love with sports. We'll do our best to snap out of it by lunchtime.
Cinderella Mauled By Gator [Deadspin]
Comments
Hate to say I told you so but.... No one saw this downturn coming for the Pats? I wonder if Wilbon still sees THREE nba players on GMU. Ratings were down? Yeah, no one saw that coming... Not to bring anyone down, but that's what you get with Cinderfellas. They are great right UNTIL the final four, but then you need the legit teams going at it. Again, is GMU, Albany, Penn, and Davidson a good final four? Who wants to watch that? We NEED Calhoun, we NEED Redick, we NEED Morrison and Ray.... RED SOX AT 2:00!!!
But Will, today is Opening Day. Best day of the year. And if that doesn't cheer you up, try this: Link
It's not opening day for Yankees fans. More like opening night. Late night. I know the deal with the time differences, but can't the A's just play a day game?? It's not like their fans actually work. I keed, I keed.
Deadspin, we will have none of this. It is Opening Day, mankind's greatest invention, the first day of six+ months of joy (and anguish, but still joy). Those of us stuck painfully at work today are counting on you for relief so go put on your sweaty Cardinals cap and snap out of it. Hooray!!
This must have been Stuart Scott's punishment to the American viewing public for supporting a George Mason team that beat his UNC Tar Heels. You are a cruel man, Mr. Scott. So, so cruel.
Will, Like Alex said, it's Opening Day! It's the greatest day in sports, especially if you're a Tigers fan, because you have a chance of being in first place at the end of the day. Like Paul Ashworth (standing in for Nick Hornby said) in the real Fever Pitch: "Football has meant too much to me, come to represent too many things. See, after a while, it all gets mixed up together in your head. You can't remember if life's sh*t because Arsenal is sh*t or the other way around...Perhaps it's something you can't understand unless you belong....And the great thing is that it comes around again and again. There's always another season...What's wrong with that? It's actually pretty comforting if you think about it. Every now and then, not very often, but it happens, you catch a glimpse of a world that doesn't work like that. A world that doesn't stop in May and begin again in August." Or end in late October and begin again in April. To begin the world, anew.
In defense of missing the Patriots play, I was at work this weekend. :/ At work today as well, but at a COMPUTER. Listening to the Cubs game this afternoon. :)
My guess is that both the games and the ratings would significantly be better if there wasn't a week in between the Elite 8 and the Final Four. Why kill the momentum? It's not like the players actually go to class or anything.
I didn't watch because I usually tune in after halftime (being a casual basketball fan at best), and by the time I would have had interest in the games, they were blowouts. Don't blame GMU, blame lopsided scores.
Come on, how can you not be overly excited about Opening Day? I'm excited, and I'm just looking forward to six months of watching the Diamondbacks valiantly struggle to attain a .500 record! Well, and to see Barry Bonds spending another year avoiding answering questions, as his head continues to expand.
Opening day! Day games all around! Yankees at 9! Its a fantastic day. Although, it must be said, Stuart Scott should be docked a week's pay everytime he does a "poetry slam." I IMMEDIATELY switch the channel. I swear, ESPN is becoming more and more like FOXSPN; its just hard to watch. Go Gators!
You know what's depressing? Opening day of baseball...and your team isn't playing.
Today is the greatest day in the history of mankind... there is nothing better than Opening Day. They really should make this a national holiday. It isn't fair that I have to work today and miss all the fun... not to mention I am a Red Sox fan living in Jersey... so I can't even listen to the game @ work... I had to get that stupid MLB radio thing... but even that isn't dampening my spirits... BRING ON THE BASEBALL BABY!!!!
I'm quite proud to say I take Opening Day off from work every year. If the government won't make it an official holiday, I'll just do it myself. Weirdly enough, this will be the first Opening day game I've attended.
My annual "fake holiday that I take a day off from work for" is the day after my birthday... for obvious getting hammered and not remembering my name reasons.
Regarding the low ratings for the Florida - George Mason game: that's what happens when casual or less-than-casual fans rally behind a team, it's not the game, it's the idea of the game, like when one of your friends has a loudmouth girlfriend who constantly tries to convince you she's "one of the guys" and how big of a sports fan she is, but ends up watching maybe five minutes of any game, if at all (these are the same people who sit in front of you at games on their cellphones, standing up and facing backwards, screaming "I'm in the third section over! Do you see me? I'm the one who's waving!"). But yes, onto baseball, Marlins baseball, more important than life itself. It's time to shock the world, starting with the Astros. (Go Gators.)
the rain delay wasn't fun.
(Test comment.)
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