Many bloggers link or respond to every story in the news regarding their team. And certainly there has been a lot about the Ducks in the news. Just check out SI.com, ESPN.com, etc. However, I have not done so. There are several reasons for this:
- I don't have the time.
- You have most likely seen it anyway. I believe that my readers aren't too stupid to find this stuff on their own.
See, there is a common criticism of Duck fans that all we care about is how we are perceived nationally. I don't really think that is a fair assessment. I know Duck fans don't care about perception more than reality. I think this whole thing stems from football, and how hard it is to get recognition playing on the west coast. The BCS snubs, for example, kind of condition you to follow national perception because the only way you get to play in big time bowl games is if you are perceived well in the polls because the polls mean so much in football.
Well, in basketball, they don't. Basketball has this novel concept where you actually get to play to determine who is the best team. So don't freak out about rankings too much. Yes, it is awesome being a top 10 team, and I'm not saying I don't want to be there. But here is what I am saying:
We will drop down because of our loss to UW. Its no big deal. Don't worry about it.
Because the tournament committee is all that matters. And polls don't mean a whole lot to them
Rankings and national attention are fun. It is nice to know that people in New York and Florida are talking about our basketball team.
Just remember that this isn't football. Talk and hype will not determine championships. And that is the real prize.
GO DUCKS!!!
--Dave