An atmosphere like none other...
--Tyler Madsen
Let me first begin by giving all the credit in the world to the University of Nebraska-Kearney for their performance last night. The Lopers are a team deserving of the national championship.
As we began to pack up our radio equipment (which didn’t work…thanks KTRM!) following the Bulldogs’ 3-1 loss to #1 Nebraska-Kearney in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Div. II volleyball championships last night, I had a wide array of emotions flowing through me. First I wanted to sympathize with our girls (or I guess the correct term is “women” on the college level). There aren’t many emotional pains greater than when you realize that everything that has been your life for the past four months (of just season time, let alone conditioning) is over. Done.
I then felt frustrated with how the brackets in DII are not “re-seeded” when all the teams come together for the final rounds. Honestly, there is no reason that we should have played UNK last night or that #2 Concordia University-St. Paul should have played #3 Tampa University on the other side of the bracket. Those are semifinal matches (#1 vs. #4; #2 vs. #3) folks, not quarterfinal matchups. Explain to me again why #16 Grand Valley State University gets an unranked Dowling College in the first round?
The main purpose of my article today is to commend the fans of Kearney, Nebraska. As I related to in our pregame radio show (that you didn’t hear…thanks KTRM!), the state of Nebraska cares about their volleyball about as much as the state of Texas cares about their football. After reading Friday Night Lights for the first time this semester, I never thought I’d experience a place quite as unique as Odessa, Texas, the site of Permian High and setting of the book. After my brief stay in Kearney, I believe I’ve found a place that at least can be seen in Odessa’s rearview mirror.
From signs on local businesses to window paint on a lot of cars we passed, this town was extremely excited that their hometown Lopers were hosting the Championships. This was shown even more when 4,412 people paid $10 ($6 if you were a student at UNK) to watch the Truman/UNK match last night, recording the largest crowd in NCAA Division II history. Yeah, I think they like their volleyball a bit.
Prior to our game, Lock Haven and Cal. State-LA squared off in one of the best volleyball matches I have ever observed. That match was everything that NCAA sports stands for – two teams of student athletes giving everything they had in order to try and move on and bring a trophy back to their school’s case. Since the game ran late, most of the UNK faithful had already arrived, and watched a thrilling 5th game that concluded with CSLA coming back from an 8-2 deficit to win 15-13.
After the match, every fan, writer and official in the place stood and applauded. And it wasn’t because they were happy that they were finally done with their match so that their Lopers could play… no, it was because these people know great volleyball and really enjoyed what they had just seen.
So with a crowd of 4,000+, you would expect the atmosphere to just be horrendous for the visiting Bulldogs, wouldn’t you? People joining together to heckle the opposition, try to rattle them through insults? I mean, isn’t this how sporting events go – make fun of the other team? Not in Kearney.
Besides a little ribbing at the start of warm-ups, the fans were otherwise again symbolizing what NCAA sporting events are all about. Their cheering was FOR their Lopers, not AGAINST our Bulldogs. After a long rally in Game 1, the Bulldogs emerged victor of the point, and instead of groans, the Loper fans actually clapped and recognized the effort of the point. Other good plays that also warranted a positive response from the partisan crowd included one of the hardest kills of the night by All-American Sarah Shearman and a great diving dig by freshman libero Whitney Boehler.
Did I wish we didn’t have to face the top team in the nation in the Elite Eight on the road seven-and-a-half hours away from home? Absolutely, but the chance to experience an atmosphere like that only comes around every so often, and I urge you to take advantage of that whenever you can – maybe in Pershing Arena one of these days.
Let me first begin by giving all the credit in the world to the University of Nebraska-Kearney for their performance last night. The Lopers are a team deserving of the national championship.
As we began to pack up our radio equipment (which didn’t work…thanks KTRM!) following the Bulldogs’ 3-1 loss to #1 Nebraska-Kearney in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Div. II volleyball championships last night, I had a wide array of emotions flowing through me. First I wanted to sympathize with our girls (or I guess the correct term is “women” on the college level). There aren’t many emotional pains greater than when you realize that everything that has been your life for the past four months (of just season time, let alone conditioning) is over. Done.
I then felt frustrated with how the brackets in DII are not “re-seeded” when all the teams come together for the final rounds. Honestly, there is no reason that we should have played UNK last night or that #2 Concordia University-St. Paul should have played #3 Tampa University on the other side of the bracket. Those are semifinal matches (#1 vs. #4; #2 vs. #3) folks, not quarterfinal matchups. Explain to me again why #16 Grand Valley State University gets an unranked Dowling College in the first round?
The main purpose of my article today is to commend the fans of Kearney, Nebraska. As I related to in our pregame radio show (that you didn’t hear…thanks KTRM!), the state of Nebraska cares about their volleyball about as much as the state of Texas cares about their football. After reading Friday Night Lights for the first time this semester, I never thought I’d experience a place quite as unique as Odessa, Texas, the site of Permian High and setting of the book. After my brief stay in Kearney, I believe I’ve found a place that at least can be seen in Odessa’s rearview mirror.
From signs on local businesses to window paint on a lot of cars we passed, this town was extremely excited that their hometown Lopers were hosting the Championships. This was shown even more when 4,412 people paid $10 ($6 if you were a student at UNK) to watch the Truman/UNK match last night, recording the largest crowd in NCAA Division II history. Yeah, I think they like their volleyball a bit.
Prior to our game, Lock Haven and Cal. State-LA squared off in one of the best volleyball matches I have ever observed. That match was everything that NCAA sports stands for – two teams of student athletes giving everything they had in order to try and move on and bring a trophy back to their school’s case. Since the game ran late, most of the UNK faithful had already arrived, and watched a thrilling 5th game that concluded with CSLA coming back from an 8-2 deficit to win 15-13.
After the match, every fan, writer and official in the place stood and applauded. And it wasn’t because they were happy that they were finally done with their match so that their Lopers could play… no, it was because these people know great volleyball and really enjoyed what they had just seen.
So with a crowd of 4,000+, you would expect the atmosphere to just be horrendous for the visiting Bulldogs, wouldn’t you? People joining together to heckle the opposition, try to rattle them through insults? I mean, isn’t this how sporting events go – make fun of the other team? Not in Kearney.
Besides a little ribbing at the start of warm-ups, the fans were otherwise again symbolizing what NCAA sporting events are all about. Their cheering was FOR their Lopers, not AGAINST our Bulldogs. After a long rally in Game 1, the Bulldogs emerged victor of the point, and instead of groans, the Loper fans actually clapped and recognized the effort of the point. Other good plays that also warranted a positive response from the partisan crowd included one of the hardest kills of the night by All-American Sarah Shearman and a great diving dig by freshman libero Whitney Boehler.
Did I wish we didn’t have to face the top team in the nation in the Elite Eight on the road seven-and-a-half hours away from home? Absolutely, but the chance to experience an atmosphere like that only comes around every so often, and I urge you to take advantage of that whenever you can – maybe in Pershing Arena one of these days.
posted by Anonymous at Friday, December 02, 2005
1 Comments:
Tyler- Heck of a blog. Really, what we should be striving for. You all did a great job, shame you had to be back so quick. But yeah, good job fellas. -Joe
Post a Comment
<< Home