The Monday after a huge weekend with your boys is depressing. That's the only way I can describe it. You're on a serious comedown physically and emotionally and if you're my age then you're almost assuredly still hungover. I'm at the point in my life where after a weekend of non stop drinking I'll be on the IL with the booze flu for the next 3 days. I used to take what I called "The Buffer Day." I used to take Monday off after getting back on Sunday. Just get that additional day to try and get right. Instead of peeling yourself out of bed at 7:30am, showering and driving to work, you can sleep in and prepare for the week.
Work from home has stripped me of that. I can't in good conscience take the day off when I'm already working in my sweats. There's no getting ready, no alarm clocks, none of that. It's the worst part of Monday but I'm sitting here right now thinking to myself that I should've taken today off. That's how epic this past weekend was celebrating The Shark. Some notes:
-Watching Sweet 16 games was a bucket list experience I will never forget. What a wonderful atmosphere it was watching a blue blood matchup between UCLA and Carolina but the main event was Saint Peters taking down Purdue. To witness the first 15 seed go to the Elite 8 was something I'll cherish forever. As a college basketball lover, I'm not sure it can get much better outside of watching my team in a Final 4. Big hug to the 4 fanbases that were kind enough to answer some of my dumb "sidewalk" interview questions. We will have that audio on the next pod.
-Arizona losing to Houston was rough. Thank God I was with my best friends and I was on another planet because that definitely helped to alleviate the pain. All in all, Houston was just the far superior team and I'm proud of the Cats season. First year head coach, program in flux and they went to the Sweet 16. 30+ wins. I can't be that mad.
-Tobacco road teams just know how to win in March. What else is there to say about Duke and Carolina? Just a few years ago they won titles in a 3 year span. Duke went toe to toe with Texas Tech and made enough plays to win. Same with UNC behind Caleb Love. Certain programs just know how to win in March and unfortunately certain programs don't. These guys know how to win along with their final 4 friends from Lawrence and Philly.
-I've had time to noodle on this and have come to the conclusion that being a fan of the Purdue Boilermakers is the worst thing of all time. There is no other team that delivers constant disappointment. So many great paths to the final 4. So many talented players. So many great matchups. They just refuse to get it done. Maybe Painter gets over the hump but if you can't beat Saint Peters with Jaden Ivey and an absurd height advantage then I don't know what to tell ya. They've lost to inferior opponents in the past but this one takes the cake.
-Looking ahead we got Duke/Carolina for the first time ever in the tournament. What a golden opportunity for the Devils to rectify their loss in Cameron and give Coach K a final win over their hated rivals. You can't script it any better unless it was in the title game. I think Duke ends up winning this strictly based off storyline. In what universe is it feasible for K to lose AGAIN to UNC and that's how he ends it all? If you know anything about theater and stories then you know how this game ends.
I'm gonna go get some soup and try to get back to neutral. Accepting thoughts and prayers.
