Fortunately for me, one of my brother's friends bought four tickets and, by a stroke of luck for me, one of the members of the original group couldn't make it to the game, so I got a ticket to the game. It was up in the balcony, there was an incredibly douchey Kentucky fan behind us, and I was sweating and shaking for the entire game.
It was worth it.
They had a 10 point lead in the second half. I thought it was too good to be true. Then Kentucky started coming back. We were hoping that IU would just be able to stave off the Kentucky run. It was basically survival mode from the Flags timeout until the end of the game.
When Kentucky took the lead with less than a minute to go on a basically uncontested layup, my heart stopped. I was so caught up in the moment, because I actually believed IU could win the game. I threw my pre-game thoughts out the window, and in the moment, I decided that I would be happy with nothing short of an IU victory.
Sometimes, it's so hard to come that close and come up short. I've experienced that many times before in sports. Even with the IU basketball team; two years ago, when #7 Purdue came to Assembly and IU lost by 3, and Verdell's half-court desperation shot to tie it at the buzzer rimmed out, I was so emotionally drained that I just fell onto my couch and laid there. I would have been okay with a 7 point loss. To lose a game that you were so close to winning, especially when you had no business being in that game, is heartbreaking.
But Lamb missed a free throw, and I started to believe again. Because after all the crap this program and its fans (the ones who have always been IU fans and never gave up on them) have been through, we couldn't take another heartbreaking loss. It's true that even if IU had lost by two, it's still an incredible achievement. Kentucky is by far the most talented team in the country, and to hang with them for a full 40 minutes would be remarkable.
But when Lamb missed his free throw, I could barely even watch after that. I kept muttering "Please...please...please" under my breath. When Verdell took the ball up the court, and Cody Zeller executed his screen (which is the most underrated and overlooked part of that play, because he allowed Verdell to keep moving down the court), I was so afraid that Verdell was going to take the last shot. But he dished it to Watford...and the rest is history.
As an IU fan who has never stopped following them and has supported them through 6, 10, and 12 win seasons -- seasons that were full of incredibly disappointing and embarrassing losses -- I can say, without a doubt, that I have never been happier after a sporting event. To win it the way they did...not only did they beat Kentucky, not only did they beat the number one team in the country, not only did they win it by one, not only did they hit a three to win it, not only were they down by two before the shot...I think you catch my drift.
We deserved this win as a fanbase. The players, especially Tom Pritchard, Verdell Jones, Christian Watford...hell, even Maurice Creek, who didn't even play, deserved this win. Tom Crean deserved this win. We deserved to be happy about something for once, and we deserved to be able to storm the court.
I was up in the balcony. I had to deal with an idiotic fan all night. My legs hurt, I was cramping up, my voice was gone, my throat hurt, I had a headache, and I was dripping with sweat...but I have never been happier in my life than I was after Christian Watford hit the second biggest shot in the history of Indiana basketball.
Kudos to the players, the coaches, and to the fans who stuck by their team through the absolute worst of times. You deserved it.
CHRISTIAN WATFORD OVERDRIVE
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