Never before...

Never before have I been so pleased and thrilled to see 2 teams lose. If you know me pretty well, you know I despise the Univ. of Tennessee. Equally so, I don't like that coach of theirs, Bruce Pearl. (To give him some accolades, he has done a tremendous job at UT, even in the face of some legal troubles of his players on New Year's Day.) Of course, you know I loathe John Calipari (I actually loathe the fact that I let him dupe me and so many other Tiger fans with his "chip on the shoulder" snake oil, but I digress.)

This weekend, Tiger fans all across the country rejoiced when Kentucky was beaten by West Virginia. And if you have been a Tiger fan for long, you know how difficult it is to root for West Virginia. Not because of their players, or the Mountaineers' Jerry West history, but because of their coach, Bob Huggins. The fact that Memphis fans are rooting for Bob Huggins just shows how much we feel we were wronged by Coach Cal.

You see, we've always hated Bob Huggins. He was the Cincinnati coach for a while and Memphis and Cincy were fierce rivals. He recruited thugs to play on his team and he even called the Memphis fans "obnoxious." Which started a t-shirt and sign campaign about being an OBNOXIOUS TIGER FAN. Anyone still have one of those shirts??

So, for us to actually ROOT for Huggins says a lot. I've actually been watching WVU a lot this season and have really grown fond of their team. I picked them to win it all! (granted they are the only team in the final four that I have picked in my bracket, but still.) Huggins' players make mature and strategic decisions while on the court, and don't seem to have any issues off the court. And Da'Sean Butler. Just call him Mr. Clutch. He has hit the game winning shot within the last few seconds for 6 of their games. Expect great things from this kid!

Seeing Coach Cal with that look of disappointment on his face was a thing of beatuy. Is it wrong to revel in someone else's misery? If so, then I am wrong...

For Tennessee to lose the very next day was also a joy to watch. Credit to Bruce Pearl and his team for making it to the Elite Eight for the first time in the school's history. I'm just hoping this means Pearl gets a better offer at another school and takes it. That way, we won't have to see him in that God-awful day-glo orange blazer, and we will be rid of him. (yes, a tad bitter becuase they have beaten Memphis since he became Coach. I can admit to that.)

Anyway, the Final Four is set and there is a #1 seed, a #2 seed, and 2 #5 seeds. Should be an interesting tournament.