I'm Done

I've seen enough.

I usually enjoy college basketball, no matter who's playing, but last night . . . meh. It's not just that the games were bad (which they were). It's not just that I've been all but eliminated in our family bracket contest (which I am. My only hope is for North Carolina to win out, beating Villanova and anybody but Louisville in the process.)

There's simply nobody left to root for.

Gonzaga has long since left the days of "the glass slipper still fits." (Watch out, Western Kentucky. You're next.) Xavier is out. The Final Four has a realistic shot at looking like the Euro 2008 semis.

Cinderella has left the building.

I suppose I don't have anybody to blame but myself. I've read entirely too much about how the sausage that is college basketball is made. After eight years of trying, I've even gotten pretty good at predicting who will be seeded where. Sadly, since the advent of the one-and-done rule three years ago, it's become even easier to predict what's going to happen once the seed lines are drawn. George Mason was a once-in-a-lifetime fluke. Davidson was a one-man show; just look what happened when their one guy got hurt. Even little brother Curry is flying the coop at Liberty for bigger and better.

I knew all that. Kyle Whelliston's red line makes it pretty clear. The cool kids have come to take over the playground, and it's time for the oddballs to go home.

So fine. I'm leaving.

I'll probably be back next year. No promises -- unlike the NCAA's, life cannot always be rigged to produce the outcome we like. If something happens in the A-Sun between now and next October 15, I'll make a note of it. I'll probably check in around baseball & softball tournament time.

But for me, basketball season is over.

God bless.