Abp. Listecki on the Wisconsin Badgers loss

Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky and Josh Gasser
(21) react after the NCAA Final Four college
basketball tournament championship game
against Duke Monday, April 6, 2015, in Indianapolis.
Duke won 68-63. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

There’s a bit of sadness throughout Wisconsin. Many envisioned an NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship for the University of Wisconsin for the first time in 74 years, but the Duke Blue Devils stood in the way. From my earliest days in high school, until I was the age of 31, the sport of basketball was a passion of mine. It is a unique sport in that every basketball player replays each play in his mind, long after the sound of the final buzzer and I know that some fans do the same.

I am sure that the ball that was tipped out of bounds and ruled Duke’s possession will live in the minds of many Wisconsin fans who felt that a change of momentum was extinguished. The obvious charge on Duke that was ruled a foul on Duje Dukan was a four-point turnaround, which could have ended the Duke surge. No doubt, many fans will think about it for about a week, argue the fine points and then focus on baseball season (we certainly need help in that area, after opening day and the Brewers’ 10-0 loss to the Rockies).

I heard many commentators claim that the Badgers’ season was a loss because they failed to win the “big” one. Everything else seemed to count for nothing. We live in a state that claims allegiance to St. Vincent – that’s Lombardi, not De Paul. His famous quote was, of course, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” Having played as a freshman on a college basketball team that was 4-22, I can tell you almost every night was a David and Goliath story and by the record, I can tell you that David did not always win. I can personally testify as to how precious those four victories were.

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