Some diligent readers of The Daily Cardinal may have noticed that 'Conorable Mention' did not run last Friday. For this I am deeply sorry-but I do have a reason.
I was suffering from the loss of a loved one. To be more specific, three loved ones. And if you really want to get technical about it, they weren't really loved ones. I'm talking about the loss that Badger fans have undergone over the past three weeks.
These losses have names. They are Brian Elliott, Greg Steimsma and
Marcus Landry. They are Denver (twice), Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota (twice), North Dakota State and Ohio State. They suck. They really suck.
If you haven't noticed yet, the men's hockey and basketball teams are a combined 1-9 since Jan. 18 and I, frankly, can't take it.
Thank goodness for friends, however. One of mine directed me toward a site on the internet on grieving and it's been a source of relief over the past 20-some days.
The first stage of loss is denial. Man, did I feel denial. When I heard
that Steimsma and Landry were out, my first reaction was, \Oh, you must mean the Steimsma and Landry that play for Alcorn State? Man, that'll be tough for the Braves.""
My mind had completely denied the information it had received and
created two fictional players from a college I have heard of only once at a school which may, or may not, have a basketball team-I don't know.
The next stage is anger. I had that one covered. I wanted blood. I wanted to destroy those stupid tests that got the better of my boys. I wanted the name of whoever slid into Elliott's knee. I was going to set some things right. Both the tests and the knee-knocker were in for a stern talking-to and, if they were really unlucky, I might have cried at them-yeah, that's right.
The third stage, and probably the most crazy, is bargaining. So far in my life, I've made about seven deals with the devil, and none of them have come back to haunt me-or come true for that matter.
The first-in which traded my soul for the success of Rashaan Salaam's pro career-seemed innocent enough at the time. But now that none of my bargaining tactics have worked, however, I think it might be time to reconsider who I choose to deal with.
And then, depression set in. It's the fourth stage of grief. Losing sucks. I hate losing. Slipping out of the top-ranked spot after looking like the best team to strap on skates since Gretzky and Messier suited up for the Oilers sucks. Dropping from the No. 13 spot in college hoops harder than Bo Jackson dropped Brian Bosworth sucks. Case in point, losing sucks.
The final stage is acceptance. But screw that. I don't like losing. I don't like having lost. I don't like being expected to lose. Maybe I'm still in stage two. In fact, it's entirely possible that I am furious bad things are happening to my teams. I guess it's a fact of life.
Nothing is perfect. Badger fans just have to hope for a better tomorrow. But in the meantime, losing sucks.
