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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Friday, March 29, 2024
Grey Satterfield

Column: Going through the five stages of grief after Wisconsin’s loss

Saturday night was sickening. When Traevon Jackson’s pull up jumper clanged off the rim and fell to the floor, the city of Madison fell with it. It’s nights like Saturday that make it hard to be a sports fan.

The mood this week can only be described as grievous. Not to be dramatic, but Saturday night was agonizing.

Depending on how invested you were, you could be anywhere in the five stages of grief, the emotional states after suffering through the death of the 2013-’14 Badger basketball season.

Stage 1: Denial

When the horn sounded it just didn’t feel real. The season couldn’t be over. There was no way.

Tough loss, but they’re going to play next week right? Denial was rampant. Did Harrison’s shot actually go in?

Let’s all go to State Street anyway. We didn’t actually lose; we’ll all still party anyway. But it wasn’t the same; the chill of the spring night and the chill of defeat carried the somber night away.

The mixture of shock and alcohol made everything feel like a nightmare, but at least you wake up from those.

Stage 2: Anger

“I HATE KENTUCKY!” rang out from every corner of campus.

And there was so much to hate about the Wildcats. First, their recruiting philosophy: Saturday was another epic chapter in the war for college basketball’s soul. Two ideas competing: Kentucky’s one-and-done philosophy and Wisconsin’s four-year student-athlete.

Wisconsin fans despise the idea of recruiting someone who will only play for a year. What about building a team? What about growing as a player? What about getting a degree?

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Hatred of Kentucky and their coach was palpable.

But the most hatred was reserved for Aaron Harrison, the freshman guard who made the shot of his life with six seconds left in the game.

That was a lucky shot; he was four feet beyond the 3-point line. What’s worse, is that it was a selfish shot.

That was the quintessential, douchey intramural jump shot. Anyone who’s ever played basketball before knows a guy who would rather jack up an ill-advised 3-pointer than make a pass. Harrison wanted to impress NBA scouts and be the guy, and sure enough, the shot went down.

Stage 3: Bargaining

In sports it’s known as the “what if” game.

What if Harrison misses? What if Traevon makes that shot? What if he gets fouled? What if Kentucky was fouled on their last possession? What if we went to overtime?

One-point basketball games are always heartbreaking for the losing team. Just one bounce of the ball and the Badgers would have been 40 minutes away from the championship.

Just ask Arizona what it’s like to get punched in the gut during the tournament.

March Madness is so cold. Sixty-eight teams get in and 67 of them have their seasons end in heartbreak.

Stage 4: Depression

Speaking of heartbreak, the sadness and disappointment lingers. It was really hard to watch Monday’s national title game.

It’s equally as hard to be excited about the upcoming NBA or NHL playoffs, or the dawning of a new MLB season.

That’s the worst part of the NCAA Tournament: It ends the entire season; it ends Ben Brust’s career. It stings, and it will sting for a while.

Walking past the players on campus brings everything back up. I can’t tell who’s more sad, the players or the fans.

Stage 5: Acceptance

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel though.

The Maui Invitational kicks off Nov. 23. Next year’s Badger team will almost certainly be one of the favorites to win the Big Ten and return to the Final Four.

Sports are full of heartbreak and crushing defeats like Saturday night, but at the end of the day, sports are about one thing: hope.

There is always next year, and with it comes the birth of the new season and the birth of a new dream to cut down the nets in Indianapolis and be national champions.

What stage of grief are you going through after Saturday’s NCAA Tournament loss? Tell Grey your feelings by emailing gsatterfield@wisc.edu.

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