Last night, I watched one of the best National Championship basketball games ever. I've talked about how much love I love this tournament, how the small school can be put on the map, that every person cheers for the underdog. Well, this year, NCAA basketball fans couldn't have asked for more in a title game. It was exactly what we hoped for: David Vs. Goliath. Butler, a small university in Indianapolis located just 6 miles from where the championship took place, playing Duke University, one of the best teams in the history of college basketball. Butler has had good runs before in the tournament making it to the Sweet Sixteen, but never the Final Four and had NEVER played in a National Championship game until last night. Duke - Just the opposite. In the Mike Krzyzewksi era alone, they've appeared in 15 Final Fours, 8 titles games and had won 3 National Championships before last night.
Coach K has coached Duke for 30 years and even has the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium named after him. Butler coach, Brad Stevens, has a bit of a different story. He attended and played for Depauw University and was an economics major eventually getting a job with Eli Lilly. He wanted to be a basketball coach so badly, he quit his high-paying job and took a volunteer coaching job prior to the 2000–01 season with the Butler Bulldogs. I've heard his girlfriend supported them and that he even took a side job at Applebees to pay the bills. He was promoted to an assistant coaching position the next year and then in 2007, he became the head coach at just 30 years old. He's been called a coaching prodigy.
A funny little sidenote: My mom called and left me a voicemail last week during the Elite 8 game and went on and on about how cute Brad Stevens was. She even asked me questions like, "Isn't he just adorable!?" and told me to "Get on it!". Okay, mom... let me just call up Butler University and ask Brad Stevens out on a date. Sorry, mom... Look at the ring finger first. He's married with 2 kids. But thanks for playing...
In the last 10 years, Butler has become one of the best "Mid-major" schools to compete for the national championship. This term has been coined by the sports media over the years and is pretty much used to describe all of the other 25 conferences not normally considered to be a major conference (The Big East, ACC, Pac 10, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12). The school has less than 5,000 students and many of the players are these good mid-west farm kids, the kind you see in a movie the kind you root for. Ironically, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler's home court, hosted the historic 1954 game where Milan High School (enrollment 161) defeated Muncie Central High School (enrollment over 1,600) to win the Indiana state title, a game that inspired the the 1986 classic basketball film Hoosiers. They even returned to Hinkle Fieldhouse to shoot the film. Of course, we felt the script was written here... everything was place. The powerhouse. The underdog. The coaches. The players. This is your Cinderella story. The "little school that could"....
Unfortunately, the script didn't play out like it did in our heads. But know this: People will remember this game. They will remember this little school led by pure shooters Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard, and Shelvin Mack. They'll remember the tenacious defense by Ronald Nored and Avery Jukes. This was a team that was doing something very special. I grew up a Duke fan and I did like this team, but how can you not go with the underdog? I had the script written already. This was a movie in the making. Maybe it still is. The score went back and forth. It came down to free throws, and then one Butler shot from mid-court for the win... and it bounced off the rim. Off the rim. The Score: Duke - 61 Butler - 59. Two point difference and Duke ran away with their fourth championship. I sat there on the couch (after standing on it for the last minute of the game) and I cried a little. One tear streaming down my face. This is what sports is all about. I wanted this so badly for this team.
I know Butler isn't holding up the trophy or cutting down the nets, but there is no doubt this game had 2 champions. Duke should be applauded. They had a great season and they faced a lot of great opponents throughout the season and worked hard. But I'm not gonna lie.. I wanted the Hollywood ending here. Butler has most of it's players back next year, so maybe... just maybe Cinderella will be back at the ball next year.
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