These are the times that try fans' souls. The fickle, face-painting fanatics and fake Badger-backers will, during consecutive losses late in the Big Ten season, jump from the bandwagon faster than Penn State coach Ed DeChellis reaches for the Pepto-Bismol.
I don't know if Thomas Paine would have liked basketball had he lived long enough to see it, but I'm pretty sure he'd be a little miffed with my embellishment of his inspiring prose penned during the struggles of the Revolutionary War.
Then again, had Paine witnessed the ""Battle at the Breslin"" (Arena) or the ""Catastrophe in Columbus"" he might have been inspired to pick up his quill and write line after line of profound verse to will his team back to victory.
My guess is that he would not have moaned about how the season was over.
In the past week, I've heard it all. ""Our offense sucks."" ""We blew it."" ""Teams who lose at the end of the regular season have no momentum going into the NCAA Tournament."" ""Great, now we're not going to get a No. 1 seed.""
A No. 1 seed? Seriously?
I realize losing a heartbreaker to Ohio State is about as enjoyable as having that grade school bully pull your boxers over your forehead, but honestly, let's put this season in its proper historical perspective.
From 1948-1988 the Badgers played in a whopping zero postseason games. In these ""Dark Ages,"" the Wisconsin faithful would have killed to make it to the NIT, never mind the NCAA Tournament.
UW teams finished with a conference winning percentage over .500 six times and ended their season in the bottom half of the Big Ten on 32 occasions during those 40 years.
Today's students have the luxury of being too young to remember John Erickson, John Powless or Bill Cofield—coaches who led the Badgers on these fruitless Crusades throughout the Big Ten kingdoms.
After trips to the NIT in 1989, 1991 and 1993, Michael Finley, Rashard Griffith and former head coach Stu Jackson took the Badgers back to the NCAA Tournament in 1994. But fans still had to endure the reigns of (Stan) ""Van Gundy the Lesser"" and (Brad) ""Soderberg the Average.""
You get the point.
This season we have had the privilege of watching arguably the best team in Badger basketball history. Yes, I know the 1941 squad won the NCAA Tournament, but that was in the days when shot clocks and 3-point lines didn't exist and players wore shorts that even Britney Spears would find risquAc. Dick Bennett's squad had a great run to the Final Four in 2000, but this year's team clearly possesses more depth and talent.
Excluding perennial national powers like Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina and Duke, most teams do not win 20-plus games in seven out of nine seasons. Few teams make it to the NCAA Tournament nine years in a row. And no Badger team has won 26 games in a season.
March heroics or not, this 2006-'07 Wisconsin squad is special. Enjoy it. There are still a lot of last-second shots to be fired, battles for rebounds to be fought and wars on the hardwood to be won.
So get that spark back Badger fans. Be proud that your team is 26-4 and not 4-26. Talk about how seeing Doug Gottlieb's face makes your blood boil. Send me more of those e-mails about how Wisconsin sports teams don't get any respect and how the ESPN/USA Today poll is ""totally rigged."" Tell Tom Izzo who his daddy is. It is your duty as faithful members of the ""Grateful Red.""
After all, the Badgers might not win the Big Ten tournament. It's possible that they could get upset early in the NCAAs. But whether they go to the Final Four or not, when you consider where this basketball program stood 15 years ago and where it sits today, even Thomas Paine would have to admit Wisconsin's transformation has been truly revolutionary.
If you'd like to talk with Ryan about Revolutionary War heroes or the probability of a Badger Final Four run, e-mail him at reszel@wisc.edu.
