When this past September rolled around, sports were looking pretty good for me. The Red Sox were in first, the Patriots started strong, the Bruins were looking to start a good year, and the Celtics were a likeable team in my mind. Most sports fans would say that I was very lucky, and I was and am luck professional sports wise. Unlike some people, I also have a true passion for college sports. I am not someone who roots for the best teams, I have been born and raised as a fan of certain colleges. All three of them were looking to have incredible seasons this year, and I was excited.
I am a huge Marquette basketball fan, I mean HUGE! I am counting down the minutes right now until the showdown against Butler at home tonight. One might ask how a ninth grade boy in Massachusetts became a Marquette fan. It is a quite simple answer, Marquette is my dad's Alma Mater. Marquette's only division 1 sport that I follow is basketball, making it even more special. Last year Marquette finished in the Elite Eight, and had a load of returners coming back for their senior years. In the late spring of 2013 , Marquette’s debatably best player Vander Blue declared for the 2013 NBA Draft instead of staying for senior year. If he had gotten drafted and started a solid NBA career, I would be happy for him. Instead, he went undrafted and is struggling to find a place in the NBA. This just makes it hard to take in, knowing that he could’ve improved a lot this year at Marquette.
Marquette was still projected to be a top 15 team in the country though. Davante Gardner, Chris Otule, and Jamil Wilson were all coming back for senior year, as well their best recruiting class in years. They had a solid 3-1 start to the year, losing to Ohio State. Then they started to fumble, and ended up around 8-4, not bad, but low for their standards. I thought they would be able to rebound from a slow start and play well in conference play, but just about the opposite has happened. Marquette is now 12-10, and for 11 straight games have won then lost, then won, and then lost a game. It is quite frustrating. After making the NCAA tournament every year under Buzz Williams, this year they will most likely come up short. Instead of, as expected, one of Buzz William’s best years, it has turned into by far the worst so far. It is hard for me to take in, as I thought it was Marquettes year, but as it turns out, it is just about the opposite. The only way I possibly see Marquette making the NCAA tournament is by winning the Big East tournament, but that would quite hard if they play like they are playing now.
Not only am I a college basketball fan, but I am a college football fan. Since Marquette doesn’t have a football team, I am a Notre Dame Football fan. My grandfather, uncle, and dad’s cousin all went there, and influenced him to be a ND football fan. He influenced me, and I became more of a die hard fan than him. This year, ND was expected to make a run at the BCS bowl and finish off the unfinished business from last year. Instead, they had a mediocre season. I understand that Everett Golson was suspended for the season, but I still believe they could have done much better. They finished unranked and in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. When expected to be a top team in the country, this season would be considered a sucky one. They finished with a 9-4 record, not bad, but to Notre Dames standard, not good. I understand they are supposed to have a great team next year, but who knows, with my recent luck, they could have a mediocre season again.
My third favorite college sport is hockey. Obviously Notre Dame has a hockey team, and are good, but I was raised as a BU fan. I have had many aunts, uncles, and cousins go to BU, and an uncle of mine used to work there. Not only that, but my cousins cousin is a freshman on the team this year. Jack Parker retired, and they have a young team, so I didn’t expect much. I thought they would be just below .500 with high hopes for next year. I still have high hopes for next year, but the team has been terrible this year. They are way below .500, and at the bottom of Hockey East. I am not too upset about this though, as I didn’t have very high expectations for BU this year anyway.
I know there are much worse teams out there, and much sadder fans, but it still has been a down year in college sports for me. Marquette and Notre Dame have been fast growing programs, both looking to bring back glory days. This year seemed like it was finally the year for both of them, but as it turns out, it was the exact opposite. Marquette might not make the NCAA tournament, and Notre Dame looked like they did five years ago. The positive I can take out of this is that all three teams have upsides, all young and well coached teams. I can’t wait until next year, when hopefully at least one of them will break out.
