The Season that Was

It took staring at a blank TV in silence for 20 minutes last night, a bit of listening to sports talk radio this morning and a reading the Detroit Free Press online to get where I'm at.
And that is, I'm ok.
Last night felt like an embarrassment. We were supposed to finish the dream run and beat North Carolina.
Seriously? It would have been nice, and even seemed remotely possible when we clawed back to within 13 points in the second half. But North Carolina is loaded. Everyone has known they were loaded since before the first tip of the season. But as with most things, too much space to fill in newspapers and too much airtime to fill up on radio leads people to lose their damn minds.
They suffered a few losses and suddenly they weren't the team everyone said they were. I can't really believe anyone thought they would go undefeated all season. You have to know they'll lose a few games, but just like Michigan State this season, they got better and better each week.
Sure we got plastered by a superior team last night, and sure we could have pulled it off with a perfect game from the Spartans. Maybe.
Even so, we were IN the national title game. 65 teams, two left. Including us. That's frankly more than I could have hoped for. Just reaching the Final Four is huge. That's the big stage, the big price of the tournament really.
And for me personally, the thrill is the ride through March. From the first 2 glorious days at Buffalo Wild Wings to the insanity of not being able to watch the game you want on CBS in the 2nd round, to going crazy over wins against Kansas and, while watching far away from home in Atlanta, going nuts as State shuts down Louisville. And, as if that weren't enough we knock off UConn and their massive front line, blowing up brackets all over the country and giving coach Izzo the security of being able to tell his players that he can get them to the Final Four.
March is an amazing time of year for college hoops, the one part of the year I look forward to more than anything else in sports. It's a month-long buzz - one that hasn't quite worn off yet even today. So as I read the summaries of their season and the game notes from last night, I'm feeling better. Lots of folks have pointed to turnovers, coaching errors, sloppy play - all the things that led to State's demise last night. I don't discount any of them today. Between North Carolina's impressive play and all of our mistakes, it was meant to be that way.
And like I said, I'm okay with that. We made it that far, and for me the fun was taking the ride in the first place.
So Kalin, Durrell, Raymar, Chris, Draymond... see you in December. And thanks.