Raised Expectations

“ I feel so….unsatisfied.” – Teddy KGB (from Rounders – 1998)

Overall I had a very nice weekend. A quiet night on Friday, the Chicago Fire season opener taken in amongst the real fans over at The Globe Pub on Saturday and finally the “Too White Crew” show at Cubby Bear that night. But the way it ended made me almost forget all the fun moments. You know that expression, “it’s better to have loved and lost, etc.?” Well, this may change at some point, but right now it doesn’t feel like that.

It seemed all season like only That School Up North (The Michigan Wolverines for you non-Ohioans) could beat the Miami Redhawks in a college hockey game that actually meant something. But as we bowed out of the NCAA Hockey Tournament on Sunday afternoon a depression set in that rivaled the heartbreak I’ve felt with my other sport loves over the years, but never with my alma mater.

The Drive.
The Fumble.
The Jose Mesa blown save in Game 7 of the ’97 World Series.
The football and basketball defeats to the Florida Gators for the Buckeyes in '07.
The Indians collapse against the BoSox last fall.

You see, at Miami University, our tiny little mid-major school in Southwest Ohio, it's different. We go in with the knowledge that we are eventually going to lose.

Remember that Sweet 16 run in 1999 by the Wally Szczerbiak led Redhawks? The reality was that Wally World was our only legitimate scoring threat and we were a #10 seed. Kentucky smoked us. If they hadn’t, Michigan State was waiting to do the honors.

The Roethlisberger led football team from 2003 was amazing. They averaged around 43 points per game and romped Louisville in the GMAC Bowl. Had the current rules been in place back then, Miami would have been BCS bound. I would have loved a chance to do what Utah did in '05 and Boise State did in '07. The reality is that we got beat handily at Iowa in week one and there was never a shot to make an unbeaten run.

The hockey team has had some very good seasons over the past 10 years. They’ve often been ranked and climbed as high as #1 a year ago, becoming the first team at Miami to do so in ANY sport. But that only lasted one week before we fell back a bit. All of that aside, reality is that Miami has also never won the CCHA Tournament and they are 1-4 all time in the hockey version of March Madness.

However, this year was headed in a direction that just seemed so different. We started the season ranked in the Top 5 and moved up quickly to #1. Miami stayed there for six weeks, suffered a defeat to an excellent Notre Dame team, and then climbed back to the top spot. Only a home loss to TSUN late in the year would knock the Redhawks off their perch again, and we finished the year #2, just behind the Wolverines.

We were given a #1 Seed in the Northeast Regional of the NCAA Tournament, but I still felt a bit of the "little Miami" syndrome in the first round against the #4 seed Air Force Academy. We trailed 2-1 late in the 3rd period and I was actually blaming myself. After all, it was me who parked behind an SUV with an Air Force sticker in the window on the street that morning. But then Miami got a late power play goal, punched home the overtime winner and jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Boston College in the regional final the next night.

For the first time in my life as a Miamian, I actually believed we could win it all at something other than Precision Ice Skating (the ice version of synchronized swimming for those of you who are unfamiliar.) We weren’t going to settle for being little “Miami of Ohio” anymore. And then, as quickly as you can say "I hate all things from Boston," we gave up three goals in 1:58 near the end of the 2nd period. We fought back and tied it, and dominated the overtime, but Boston College scored an amazing goal that was reminiscent of Bobby Orr flying through the air in the ’67 Stanley Cup against my St. Louis Blues.

So, while BC will be making their 21st appearance in the Frozen Four, we are still waiting for our first. We won more games than any team in school history, and we have the best overall record in college hockey right now, but we’ll be watching from home again this year. Or not watching, as the case may be. I’ll be at the Yelp! Prom with Mrs. Sizemore. We were planning on watching the Finals while dressed to the nines, but now the night is all hers.

At this time, I’d like to get on my high horse for a minute and rip into the NCAA. Once again, we’ve discovered that their purpose as a NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION has nothing to do with academics or athletics, as would be indicated by their name, the National Collegiate Athletic Association. God forbid. No, their only mission is to make money. How did we relearn this lesson through hockey, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

If you thought the seeding in the NCAA basketball tournament was a travesty, and it was, then the injustice that occurred in the seeding of the NCAA tournament would border on criminal. Below are the brackets, in order of how they ranked the #1 seeds. Please note the venues each region are being played in.

East Regional
Albany, New York
#1 Michigan vs. #4 Niagra
#2 St. Cloud vs. #3 Clarkson

#1 Michigan vs. #3 Clarkson

Northeast Regional
Worchester, Massachusetts
#1 Miami vs. #4 Air Force
#2 Boston College vs. #3 Minnesota

#1 Miami vs. #2 Boston College

Midwest Regional
Madison, Wisconsin
#1 North Dakota vs. #4 Princeton
#2 Denver vs. #3 Wisconsin

#1 North Dakota vs. #3 Wisconsin

West Regional
Colorado Springs, Colorado
#1 New Hampshire vs. #4 Notre Dame
#2 Colorado College vs. #3 Michigan State

#3 Notre Dame vs. #4 Notre Dame

Question: Why were Boston College, Colorado College, Clarkson, Wisconsin and Niagara(two #2 seeds, two #3 seeds and a #4 seed) all set up to have what amounted to home games against teams that were seeded higher in the field than they were?

Answer: Money. Simply put, the NCAA figured that all of those schools would by lots of tickets.

However, if money were the driving motivation, then why were each of the #1 seeds playing so far from their homes? Miami in Massachusetts? Michigan in Albany, New York? New Hampshire in Denver? Wouldn’t you think the top teams in the country would send tons of fans if they were closer to home?

North Dakota was the only one that played even remotely close to their home (if you call a nine hour drive "close." However, while other #1 seeds played in the backyard of a lower seeded opponent, the Fighting Sioux actually had to play in the home building of a #3 seed. Not only were the Badgers a #3 seed, but they were also the only team in the field that entered the tournament with a losing record. That could have been the biggest disadvantage of them all.

And hear me out here, because despite me being a Miami fan, my plan would have still kept Miami far from home. Michigan earned the right to be in Madison more than we did. The Redhawks would still have been playing in Albany, but at least it's closer than Worchester. But wouldn’t New Hampshire have had a more level playing field against Boston College in Massschusetts than we did? And North Dakota's trip to Colorado Springs wouldn't have been that much further than Madison, only about five hours or so.

If tickets is your concern, go ahead and keep letting low seeds host the Regional play. But if you're going to do that, at least put the top seeds in cities that make a little bit of sense.

I'll dismount from my horse now and leave you with the Miami highlight real from the 2008 NCAA Hockey Tournament. Hopefully next will be the year we finally get to the Frozen Four.