By
Ryan Finley
You know what I like to do when my team loses?
I like to grab a baseball bat, throw back some cold ones and flip over a few Volkswagen buses. When I'm done with that, I steal a few street signs, smash a few store windows, pick a few fights and spit on some cops before feeling the clean crack of a nightstick on the back of my head.
Ahhh, NCAA basketball, it's fan-tastic. Riot-tastic. Inferno-riffic.
A select few Arizona fans decided to show their displeasure with the Wildcats' transition defense by lighting a bar on fire, smashing some windows and kicking some asses.
Why? Because UA lost. Real smart guys, the people who did this.
They turned Fourth Avenue into 1980s Lebanon, complete with car burnings, riot gear and arson. All because the Wildcats didn't hit their free throws.
Now, I'm as big into UA basketball as just about anyone. I went to all the home games, watched the road games on TV, and even went so far as to buy a pair of the ill-fated red shorts that were branded as unlucky by UA players, coaches and fans.
I couldn't sleep when Bobbi Olson died. I sat with friends for hours talking about the suspensions of Loren Woods and Richard Jefferson. I nearly came to blows with my roommate last night over whether or not Luke Walton could play in the NBA. I think he can, by the way. In fact, I know he can.
I even lost a bet - blue UA shorts vs. black Duke shorts - with my cousin Matt, who graduated from Duke four years ago.
But I'm not stupid.
Even though I have the maturity level of a 12-year-old and don't mind drinking a few too many beers, I learned at a fairly early age that you should lose with class.
Following last night's loss, I called Coach K every name in the book. I bitched about "Saint" Shane Battier's position in the eyes of the referees. I talked about Mike "Skeletor" Dunleavy and the fact that he and Tracy Gold - you know, Carol from "Growing Pains" - probably meet each other for lunches consisting of a lettuce leaf and a finger down their throat.
I even took a few shots at the creases in Battier's head, which makes his dome resemble a Michigan football helmet.
But I would never, EVER stick a Zippo underneath a gas tank to protest a few bad calls. The people who did that last night aren't true fans.
True fans appreciate tight competition and a well-played, competitive game, which last night's game was. True fans recognize talent when they see it. True fans love sports for the intrinsic, primal battle that comes with two teams going head-to-head with the stakes high. True fans know Arizona LOST last night's game because they were OUTPLAYED by a Duke team that couldn't miss a shot. It wasn't the refs and it wasn't the Duke bias.
It was Arizona actually losing a game. Nothing more.
Now, the nation and the world is more consumed with the idiots and the car flipping and the bar on fire and the riots and the SWAT teams and the arrests and drunks and the sight of Tucson in flames than the fact that Arizona let a bunch of ACC punks ruin its season of destiny.
Tucson is the laughingstock of the nation today, not because of the actions of the Arizona basketball team but because of the idiocy of a select few. Our tiny little corner of the world has joined the ranks of Watts, Detroit and Chicago. We should all be ashamed.
It could be worse: Arizona could have won. Think of what would be up in flames then.
