Max
Member
For a second straight year, the University of Connecticut womenās basketball team saw its hopes of an undefeated season and a national championship dashed in the Final Four, losing an overtime classic to Notre Dame on Friday night.
I wonāt say Tuscaloosa feels the Huskiesā pain. Most Alabama fans, if they have a rooting interest at all, would probably like to see Mississippi State bring the title to the Southeastern Conference for a second straight year, following South Carolinaās win in 2017. But there is no other group more aligned with the absolute expectation to ā a.) win the title and b.) beat everyone ā than Alabama fans.
Every situation is different, but the similarity is obvious: both have won five national championships in the last nine seasons, although UConnās run extends back a bit further than Alabamaās. Each has the coach recognized as the best in the respective sports, arguably the best ever.
Thatās why Iāve never advocated the position that UConn was ābadā for womenās basketball, any more than Alabama is ābadā for college football. That argument does surface from time to time. Whether it is Nick Saban or Geno Auriemma, a coachās job is to build the best program he can, not to nurture the future of the sport by throwing a few games as some sort of mercy offering. Saban, in particular, has prompted some changes in the rules (especially those regarding recruiting) and proceeded to adapt and succeed.
In the process, a mentality has been created ā the teams should never lose. Alabama has never quite had a 111-game winning streak, of course, but the attitude is the same.
Winning championships is difficult. Doing so without a single loss along the way is both difficult and rare, and will grow rarer as time progresses. Thereās an interesting argument that a loss along the way might be beneficial to a team, if only because it relieves a certain amount of pressure that team might feel.
There are absolutists who feel the other way. No coach, no fan, wants to lose. On the other hand, it is hard to look at Alabamaās just-concluded football season and say there werenāt some positives that derived from losing to Auburn and not playing Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. That is not the same as saying Alabama did not want to win, or that it was not a memorable victory for Auburn.
Perhaps UConnās season would have ended the same way whether it lost a game or not. Sometimes, a game against a strong opponent simply comes down to that team making one play. That was the story of Alabamaās 2016 football season ā a great team, but one that faced a Clemson team that made one more play in the end.
One can make the argument it was Sabanās ābestā Alabama team, although history wonāt remember it that way because the sole loss it suffered came at the wrong time. Madonna Thompsonās Sheldon State womenās basketball team suffered an eerily similar fate just a week ago.
The cycle will rewind for Alabama football again in a few months, and for UConn womenās basketball a few months afterward. Both brands are now so strong even a loss doesnāt make people acknowledge the possibility of another loss. Still, it will be a bitter offseason in Storrs.
The people in Tuscaloosa get it.
https://www.tidesports.com/cecil-hurt-theres-a-lot-in-common-with-uconn-and-alabama/
I wonāt say Tuscaloosa feels the Huskiesā pain. Most Alabama fans, if they have a rooting interest at all, would probably like to see Mississippi State bring the title to the Southeastern Conference for a second straight year, following South Carolinaās win in 2017. But there is no other group more aligned with the absolute expectation to ā a.) win the title and b.) beat everyone ā than Alabama fans.
Every situation is different, but the similarity is obvious: both have won five national championships in the last nine seasons, although UConnās run extends back a bit further than Alabamaās. Each has the coach recognized as the best in the respective sports, arguably the best ever.
Thatās why Iāve never advocated the position that UConn was ābadā for womenās basketball, any more than Alabama is ābadā for college football. That argument does surface from time to time. Whether it is Nick Saban or Geno Auriemma, a coachās job is to build the best program he can, not to nurture the future of the sport by throwing a few games as some sort of mercy offering. Saban, in particular, has prompted some changes in the rules (especially those regarding recruiting) and proceeded to adapt and succeed.
In the process, a mentality has been created ā the teams should never lose. Alabama has never quite had a 111-game winning streak, of course, but the attitude is the same.
Winning championships is difficult. Doing so without a single loss along the way is both difficult and rare, and will grow rarer as time progresses. Thereās an interesting argument that a loss along the way might be beneficial to a team, if only because it relieves a certain amount of pressure that team might feel.
There are absolutists who feel the other way. No coach, no fan, wants to lose. On the other hand, it is hard to look at Alabamaās just-concluded football season and say there werenāt some positives that derived from losing to Auburn and not playing Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. That is not the same as saying Alabama did not want to win, or that it was not a memorable victory for Auburn.
Perhaps UConnās season would have ended the same way whether it lost a game or not. Sometimes, a game against a strong opponent simply comes down to that team making one play. That was the story of Alabamaās 2016 football season ā a great team, but one that faced a Clemson team that made one more play in the end.
One can make the argument it was Sabanās ābestā Alabama team, although history wonāt remember it that way because the sole loss it suffered came at the wrong time. Madonna Thompsonās Sheldon State womenās basketball team suffered an eerily similar fate just a week ago.
The cycle will rewind for Alabama football again in a few months, and for UConn womenās basketball a few months afterward. Both brands are now so strong even a loss doesnāt make people acknowledge the possibility of another loss. Still, it will be a bitter offseason in Storrs.
The people in Tuscaloosa get it.
https://www.tidesports.com/cecil-hurt-theres-a-lot-in-common-with-uconn-and-alabama/
