I have no idea what happened today.
How's that for an opening line? It's actually somewhat accurate but is also hyperbole. The Bison lost. Both teams lost too early. It wasn't a surprise that the ladies went down. They only managed six wins on the year but did some positive signs today. And good for them, sincerely. They deserve the reward that is winning games for the work that they put in as student athletes.
Their male counter parts are a bit of a different story. They managed to get the #2. They've been an up and down team but with more positives then negatives this year. I came to Sioux Falls hoping that I'd able to ride the coattails of another NCAA tournament team. That's not to be and it came in rather convincing fashion. It's too bad. For the fans, sure but that shouldn't compare to what the players and coaching staff are facing tonight.
Two more great Bison athletes ended their careers this evening. Their may be someone similar to Dupree in the future, there isn't going to be another Dexter Werner. It's too bad. They deserved one more shot at the big time. I was never an athlete. I didn't like playing sports and only became interested in it after the opportunity to do so was past.
I don't want this to be about me or any of the fans. It's about that team. The ones who have worked and planned and dreamed about the opportunity that lay ahead of them when they rolled into the gym tonight. The door got slammed in their faces. It's too bad. But it is sports, as cold as that statement may come across to the readers. There's always a winner and always a loser.
That doesn't serve to lessen the sting. The men had their chances to keep it close but they just didn't have it tonight. There will be plenty of analysis tomorrow and this week and going forward so that's all the closer I feel like getting to analysis of it here. I just want us to remember the team. The coaches and the players who put so much in only to get laid out so decisively. I for one don't think about it enough. That the athletes are people too. They're people first yet get treated so differently because of their talents and have such unique experiences. But that should be the take away from this. Remember all the people involved in athletics as people first.
I've rambled on more then I thought I would but that's the point I wanted to make. Just remember that players are people too. So after the shock has warn off, you have the opportunity to be a human being to those young men and woman.