Bison do the Valley proud

I've always been a fan of March Madness. The close games, the upsets - they've always made for some incredible viewing over the years. Before Friday, I had never had the opportunity to actually go to an NCAA Basketball Tournament game. After Friday, when I got back home in Bemidji after watching two first-round tournament games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, March Madness felt a little bit more significant to me.

I'll admit, I hadn't really followed the NDSU Basketball team during the course of the season. I didn't know that guard Ben Woodside had scored 60 points earlier this season, or that he had set some sort of record by making thirty free throws in a game. I knew that the team had defeated Oakland in the Summit League Championship, but not much more than that. In fact, if I didn't have several friends that go to NDSU, I might not have paid the Bison much attention. But, last Sunday, when it was announced that NDSU would be playing their first-round game in the Metrodome, my friends and I were already trying to figure out the details of the trip; where would we get tickets; how much would they cost? What time might the game be at?

Eventually, the details fell into place, and we left Bemidji before 7:00 a.m. We had heard that Fargo residents and Bison fans would be converging on the Metrodome, but it hadn't really dawned on me until I saw the streams of green and gold on the Minneapolis streets what kind of an atmosphere we were walking into, and what kind of wonderful optimism the Bison had inspired in these people.

Indeed, the team is a remarkable story. Because the team had made the move to Division I, the program had to go through several years of ineligibility (which, by the way, I think is a really very stupid idea; why should a team moving UP to play more competitive teams have to be ineligible for playoffs? This idea makes more sense for teams that are moving DOWN to play less competitive teams, but not this way), Woodside and others, knowing that they would be getting one, and only one, shot at the NCAA Tournament, redshirted their freshman year. And indeed, in their first attempt, NDSU got their shot at the Big Dance. Their date? The Kansas Jayhawks, the defending national champions.

Of course, by now, you probably know the result. "Impossible Dream," read the Star Tribune headline yesterday. The final score was an 84-74 victory for Kansas, but anyone at the Metrodome would probably tell you that the game was closer than that. Throughout the second half, the Bison chipped away at the Kansas lead, though ultimately not getting any closer than 3 (although they had their chances). The size of 6'11' Kansas center Cole Aldrich ultimately made the difference, as the Bison simply couldn't stop him when he got the ball. So, yes, it was a loss, but in that loss I felt the kind of optimism in Bison fans that made the trip that makes March Madness so special. It's an optimism in the belief that any team has a shot in the Big Dance; an optimism that a team, making its first-ever appearance, can give the defending National Champions a run for their money, and make their fans just a little bit nervous; an optimism that a point guard who was considered too small by his home state team can drive an established program to the limit. This is what March Madness is about, and this is why it captures America's attention for three weeks every year. And in those yelling and screaming and cheering, green and gold-faced, Bison-clad fans, I saw that optimism for forty exhilirating minutes on Friday morning.

Posted by: sbenshoof on 3/22/2009 at 7:30 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

43 degrees on the 31st, and other thoughts

Honestly, 43 degrees??? I couldn't believe how warm it was when I stepped outside my house today. It's not quite a record, but almost - weatherunderground.com says the record was 48 in 1989 (for Northfield, not for Bemidji), but that's still pretty darn close. I had actually forgotten what that feels like, and I seriously thought for a moment that perhaps we had just skipped the end of January and February altogether and moved on to March. Which would have been fine with me, but I don't think that's the case. It's not going to last very long, and I'm not even sure how much I should actually enjoy it - it'll be cold again tomorrow (or, colder, at least), and I wouldn't be surprised to see some more subzero temps before all is said and done. It's just Old Man Winter tempting us a little bit.

Anyway, what else is new? With the Twins, not a whole lot. In fact, I'm quite angry at Bill Smith right now. True, the team isn't spending money - and wasting money - on any Livan Hernandezes, Mike Lambs, Rondell Whites, Adam Everetts, Russ Ortizes, Sidney Ponsons, and on and on, and that's certainly not going to happen when you don't spend money at all. Seriously, I heard Smith had a thrifty reputation, but this is absurd. He had a chance to get Eric Gagne, which wouldn't have been much, but for $3 million it's not a very large risk, especially when it would've been our only signing of new free agents to date. I think the team's going to be in good shape for next year, but they need to improve in several key areas, and they're not going to do that by standing pat. They re-signed Punto and Kubel (though they really did overspend on both of those deals...how does Punto get more money than Kubel, anyway?). It's been a frustrating off-season, and despite claims that the team is pursuing trades, I wouldn't be expected to see the very same team that ended the season one run short in Chicago take the field in the Spring. True, they'll be better - the youngsters will all have improved, and we have some good looking kids coming up in the minors - but part of me wished they did something about that jam in the outfield, or the lack of a true 8th inning setup man. I guess we'll see.

And how about the Timberwolves? They couldn't quite keep up with the Lakers last night, but they've looked so much better. They're still one of the better teams in 2009 (despite whatever teams they might have caught shorthanded), and I think that Al Jefferson getting left off the All-Star Team and Kevin Love getting left out of the Rookie-Sophomore game is ridiculous. Both of them are playing great. Al, especially, has been carrying this team at times, and even though he isn't an All-Star, the games that they've won this year must be doing wonders for his psyche. Losing 13 in a row is never good for anyone, no matter the sport, and it's so good to see him and other members of that team feeling what it's like to win again. This year may already be a lost cause (that losing streak really put them far behind), but you gotta feel much better about the shape this team is in.

Before I go back to homework: my call for tomorrow is Cardinals 20, Pittsburgh 17. Why not. Let's go with the improbable pick.

Posted by: sbenshoof on 1/31/2009 at 4:06 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

A day to remember forever

On Tuesday, America saw what makes America special. The passage of power from one leader to another and from one party to another, peacefully and without bloodshed, is the great thing that our Founding Fathers intended.

The inauguration of a new president – from a different party than his predecessor – is nothing new. But Tuesday’s inauguration felt special, for so many reasons. Special because the hope and optimism from Obama’s election is still so evident in today’s America. Special because America now officially has its first African-American President. And special because it marked a final end to the last eight years, and eight years that Americans soundly repudiated a little more than two months ago.

The excitement of Tuesday’s inauguration was evident in the cheering and crying faces of the millions of Americans that did whatever they could to attend the event, and who climbed over fence and monument to get a better view of Obama’s swearing-in.

People who somehow managed to get a ticket for the inauguration sacrificed crowded, claustrophobic conditions on the Washington subway, hours (in Cody's case, more than 13!) without food or drink to stand in 20 degree weather to get their best view on a jumbotron; but despite that, many have said that it was worth the costs to be a part of such an historic event, and to be with others like them who were there to celebrate.
Those who attended the event in person, though, missed some of the more striking, lasting images from the day. To watch former President Bush and his family board their last helicopter out of Washington as Obama and Biden waved was one of the more powerful images that young, college-aged people can remember. That image represented the end of an era – the end of the past eight years that saw so many people my age becoming cynical of the political system, and cynical of America. Watching the helicopter lift up and fly out of Washington, leaving the new regime on the steps of the Capital building, was the epitome of the change that so many people have been waiting for.

Without a doubt, Tuesday will be a day that Americans will remember for years, and it will be a day that people will look back on years from now. It will be a day that all of us – whether we were in Washington in person, watching on TV from home, or at work – were part of. It was history, and America was lucky to be a part of it.

Of course, how Obama performs during the next four – or eight – years will dictate how well Tuesday will be remembered. Obama issued a sobering reminder in his speech that the tasks ahead will not be easy, and that America needs to come together and unite to get through this difficult period. Americans have been waiting for two months for Obama to finally begin, and now he gets his chance.
 

Posted by: sbenshoof on 1/20/2009 at 8:36 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

The day is finally here

Boy, I tell you, I envy that Cody Nelson. To be able to travel to Washington D.C. to be a part of the Inauguration ceremonies is a pretty amazing opportunity(I don't envy, though, those airline costs or the incredible crowds and jammed public transportation). I definitely tried to go - I wrote an essay for a contest they were having, but apparently they didn't like it very much. Oh well, I tried.

As a friend and I were watching the Inauguration Concert on Sunday, I remarked how amazing it must be to just be there at all, even without a ticket to any of the ceremonies. Just to be in that city with those millions of people, and to experience the excitement that is driving that city. I wonder if people are even going to be sleeping tonight. Cody definitely won't be!

But you know what? When we're looking back on this day twenty or thirty years from now and telling our kids or grandkids how old we are, will it matter that we weren't actually there in D.C.? Nah. It's history, and no matter where we are, or what we're doing, we're a part of it.

So what will you be doing tomorrow? Will you have a chance to watch the swearing-in in the morning? I will be, thankfully (because class was cancelled!). Some people will be in class, or will be working, but it doesn't matter. It's going to be a special day - one of those days that we'll remember for a long time. It's the beginning of a new era. Some people have been complaining that Obama's Inauguration has become a "circus," or is costing way too much. Maybe so, but there's no doubt we haven't been this excited about the swearing-in for a President in years. Perhaps ever.

I think that part of the excitement surrounding tomorrow's events is that we're anxious for Obama to really get started. No more "Mr. President-elect." We want to see what he can do - and we hope that he can live up to the high expectations that we've set for him to see if America really has turned the page. There's no doubt that Obama embodies more than any recent President in memory.

So perhaps the events of tomorrow will be extraordinary; maybe the speech Obama will give will be his best speech yet. Or maybe it'll all be rather ordinary. But the bottom line is that the day itself will be remembered forever, and it's something that you'll be able to tell your kids or grandkids, no matter what you'll be doing. And that's special.

I'll check back in tomorrow with my thoughts on Obama's speech.

Posted by: sbenshoof on 1/19/2009 at 8:59 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Minnesota Vikings: inspiring cynicism since 1998.

In the Mineapolis Star Tribune today, there was a lot written about how much of the heartbreak felt by the newest generation of Vikings fans can be dated back to 1998, when the Vikings lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game, and that Vikings fans still haven't forgotten about it. Even in the CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother," Minnesotans in a Minnesota Bar in New York City all talk about how, every time they think about the game (which the writers' of the show erroneously called the '99 Championshp Game, which is not right at all and shows they're not actually true Minnesotans), they cry. Also in the Strib, though, was a lot of excitement about where this years' team is - or was, I guess, before 3:15 - in a position to win the Division Title by beating the Falcons today and make the playoffs for the first time in several years. The season was turned around, articles read, and writers predicted the Vikings to beat the Falcons, thus ensuring that elusive playoff berth that Brad Childress managed to  coach the Vikings out of last year.

Buuuut, that wasn't exactly the case. The Vikings were never really close in today's game, and their loss ensured that the Chicago Bears still have hope to win the division. Which means that Childress again has the opportunity to coach the Vikings right out of the playoffs. Again.

Really, it just proves one thing: it is impossible to become excited about this team, because in the end, the result is always the same. There'll always be those fumbles, or that bad call, or whatever.

Speaking of fumbles; how about Adrian Peterson, the supposed MVP of the league (not anymore, though - nobody in their right mind could or should vote for him after he fumbled away any chance the Vikings had of winning today's game). Is it the pressure of winning a big game? Is it just the physical wear and tear of the season? Whatever it is, it needs to be fixed, and fast. Because unless it is, the Vikings really can't trust him with the ball  when it matters - which will be all of next week's game against New York, assuming that Chicago doesn't lose to Green Bay tomorrow night. And not to mention in the playoffs - if they make it - where every play matters.

I can't quite fault today's loss with Tarvaris Jackson. I thought that he played pretty well - his fumble late in the game hurt as well, of course - and that he did what  he needed to do to lead the team to victory. It's just that AP was something of a non-factor, putting Jackson in the position to win the game, which is where he shouldn't be.

And I can't quite fault the defense, either. They gave up a few early scores, but mostly made the stops when they needed to, especially late in the game.

I can fault Childress, though. All of those fumbles and turnovers should fall right on the coaching staff. And I can fault AP, which is a little bit more suprising. The bottom line is, though, that the Vikings shouldn't be in this position. They shouldn't be in a position where Childress can throw the season away. Because I just can't believe he'll do otherwise.

Posted by: sbenshoof on 12/21/2008 at 7:07 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink