An Emotional Night (Long post alert)

[brewcity77]

I've seen the BC more packed, and I've heard the BC louder, but I have never experienced a more jubilant atmosphere at the BC than last night. As we came back in those 6 minutes, the building transitioned from despondency to hope to joy. Sam's monster three, Katin taking over the point and drilling that ice cold shot to tie it up before calmly putting us ahead at the line.

Right before tip-off, I told my wife that I believed we could win. She knows Villanova is good, but doesn't follow rankings, and asked me what Villanova was ranked. I held up one finger, and she just chuckled and rolled her eyes. She knows I'm the constant optimist when it comes to Marquette basketball, so I don't think she had the belief I did.

Suffice to say, that belief was tested severely. With 6 minutes on the clock, I thought "we're getting blown out again, but every time I watch us play 'Nova I feel like we can beat them." I know there were disbelievers after that Philly game, but I really felt then as I did last night that we should be more competitive with them. And then that happened.

With about 2 minutes in the game and the chances of an upset starting to look tantalizingly realistic, a stream of about 20-30 students poured through our section headed down to the court. I saw the usher step forward initially to stop them, but when that many kids come by and you're just one guy, there's nothing you can do. He stepped back as quickly as he stepped forward and let them pass. My wife asked where they were going and I told her "They're getting ready to storm the court if we win." Her response was "But they don't allow that here." I just smiled and said "How are a couple barricades and maybe 20 security guards going to stop a couple thousand kids?"

As Nova took the final possession with energy surging through the crowd, I leaned over to my wife and said "If we can keep them scoreless for 8.8 seconds, we will beat the #1 team in the country." Villanova came down, the shot went up, Sam secured the rebound, and mass hysteria ensued. The students poured onto the court. I didn't storm the court myself, though a part of me wished I was in my 20s again. Alas, 40 is looming next year and as we all know thanks to Mike Gundy, that means I'm about to be a man, so those days are past. Instead, I just watched. Watched, recorded, high-fived everyone around me, old and young alike.

I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go anywhere. That environment was freaking magical. Everyone in the building was so elated. As the crowds started to trickle out, I sat back down and watched the celebrations. I reflected on what this win means for the different segments of the Marquette community.

For those that have kept the faith in Wojo and the direction he's taking the program, last night felt like a massive redemption. It felt like all that faith being paid off. We suffered through that miserable first year, watched as last year's team started to win again but knew it was somewhat hollow due to the scheduling and the lack of a tournament berth. And this year, suffice to say for the moment we sure aren't anywhere close to that bubble anymore. All that faith paying off, because at least last night, we were back on top of the college basketball world. Where we belong.

For those that have taken the wait-and-see approach, I have to imagine last night was that crystallizing moment. It finally all came together, the team found the will, the talent, and admittedly the luck to win a game that most would have thought we wouldn't win.

And for those that were in the "Fire Wojo" camp, those that were disappointed with the direction of the program, I have to imagine last night brought them into the fold. People like 1SE, who were vocal in criticism but have started to see the inklings of promise, last night was that massive "we can freaking do this" moment. To all those people, I just want to say "We are Marquette" and it takes all of us to make our little community what it is. I certainly hope that you are now on board.

Finally, I got up from my seat. I walked to the aisle and high-fived some more students as they came up off the court. As we went outside, chants of "We are Marquette" rang throughout downtown. It wasn't just around the Bradley Center, as we walked west you could hear them echoing off buildings all the way up toward campus. Students were dancing on the sidewalks, arms still in the air, or just running back to campus. Another group was gathered around the light pole on the southeast corner of the BC, with one leading Marquette chants as everyone around him celebrated. My wife leaned over and said "I don't think I've ever seen anyone this happy after a win!" She was right. Certainly not in my lifetime, not at the BC.

Last night felt like it did in Minneapolis when we beat Kentucky. I've attended some big wins at the BC over the years, but for most of those, we expected to win, or at least expected we had a shot. Last night, I think there were a ton of skeptics and non-believers that were converted, and that energy, that raw emotion, it sure as hell felt powerful.

We walked over to Jim's Time Out on Lovell and Wells, largely because the beer is cheap and it's usually a fairly quiet place. It was, but a decent sized Marquette crowd found their way to join us anyway. High-fives all around, conversation with strangers, grads and students alike. The non-Marquette regulars were congratulatory and we all watched the highlights on ESPN.

Absolutely amazing environment. I only recorded a little, but feel free to enjoy the view from my seats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0VfxUZUiUw

[MUFlutieEffect]

Great post.  Great video.  Both gave me chills.

[warriorchick]

Great post, Brew.

Speaking of rushing the floor, I took some video from our seats in the upper bowl, and then I said to glow, "Let's go down there!"  All of the entrances from the concourse were blocked off by security, so we decided to see if we could sneak in from the Courtside Club.  When we got down there, we saw that we could, and as I was singularly focused on getting to the court, I heard glow (who was a couple of paces behind me), saying, "Great game, Coach!  Congratulations!"  I turned around, and glow was shaking Wojo's hand, who had been walking basically unaccompanied to the press room while his team was still standing on the scorer's table.

That game is going to right up there with the 2013 Butler/MU game at the NCAA's as far as the greatest games I have seen in person.

So far, that is...

[ecompt]

Thanks for the post. You captured the moment beautifully. I am very happy you and your wife got to be a part of it.

[Coleman]

What was actual attendance last night?

What % was upper deck filled?

Just curious for those like me watching at home

[4everwarriors]

I'm figurin' lots of MU folks crossed over the Tempur-Pedic dividin' line last nite and 9 mos from now loads of little Katins, Duanes, and Lukes will be peein' and poopin' in der Huggies, ai na?

[warriorchick]

What was actual attendance last night?

What % was upper deck filled?

Just curious for those like me watching at home

No it was not, but I bet a bunch of folks are kicking themselves for not going.

Also, I found out that it is Rush Week at Marquette, and most of the fraternities and sororities had mandatory attendance last night for members as well as all of the kids who are rushing.  That probably took at least a couple hundred kids out of the student section.

[Babybluejeans]

Great post. Beating #1 is always a huge deal but this was clearly something bigger than that. The signal we've been waiting for--that the pain of the last 3+ years are over-- picked up with the shocker at Creighton and crescendoed last night. It said, "We're back."

[4everwarriors]

Lotta golf left ta be played, hey?

[BubbaWilliams]

Great shout out to Jim's Time Out!

[Coleman]

No it was not, but I bet a bunch of folks are kicking themselves for not going.

Also, I found out that it is Rush Week at Marquette, and most of the fraternities and sororities had mandatory attendance last night for members as well as all of the kids who are rushing.  That probably took at least a couple hundred kids out of the student section.

I didn't ask a yes or no question. I'm looking for attendance numbers and/or % upper deck full....

Also, anyone who puts sororities or fraternities over basketball should leave MU and just go to UW

[1SE]

People like 1SE, who were vocal in criticism but have started to see the inklings of promise, last night was that massive "we can freaking do this" moment. To all those people, I just want to say "We are Marquette" and it takes all of us to make our little community what it is. I certainly hope that you are now on board.

I was on board after Creighton! Didn't you see the .gif?

Great post. I'm thrilled that we've had this success - and my criticism has probably been colored by the fact that I was a student (and there) the last time we beat a number one, and (I think) the last time the BC was stormed. I was spoiled in my MU formative years and it's been rough to have this succession of down years.

The other part of my critique, from the get go, with Wojo was that I felt that, as a program (with the resources we were spending and the decade of NCAA success we were coming off of) we should have been able to grab an "established" coach. That we couldn't felt like a snub and in some ways I felt Wojo was the embodiment of that. *Almost* blue bloods can pick their established coach, they shouldn't have to resort to untested assistants.

But this is undeniable success - we've put it all together for two great wins. Hopefully all the rest of the steps to the dance fall into place, but it's great to revel in MUBB success again.

[mugrad2006]

Thanks Brew, I felt of the lot of that same emotion, although I wasn't near the optimist you are. When Howard fouled out I had one step out the door.

But yeah, I've definitely seen louder, fuller games at the BC. But I don't think I've felt the slow build of emotion and disbelief like that game.

[warriorchick]

I'm figurin' lots of MU folks crossed over the Tempur-Pedic dividin' line last nite and 9 mos from now loads of little Katins, Duanes, and Lukes will be peein' and poopin' in der Huggies, ai na?

Speaking of which, anyone notice Travis Diener was not at the game?  Last night's win was only the second best thing that happened to him yesterday.  Apparently baby Luca Lyle Diener was born as well.

Glow is updating the recruiting thread as we speak. 

[warriorchick]

I didn't ask a yes or no question. I'm looking for attendance numbers and/or % upper deck full....

Also, anyone who puts sororities or fraternities over basketball should leave MU and just go to UW

Sorry - I would say 1/3 full at best.

[Coleman]

Sorry - I would say 1/3 full at best.

Ok. Thanks. Didn't mean to be crabby.

[warriorchick]

Ok. Thanks. Didn't mean to be crabby.

No worries.  I am having major focusing issues today in general. Been at work for almost two hours and haven't gotten a lick of work done.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Nm

[warriorchick]

I've been critical of Wojo, but I feel like we are now progressing on things that really bothered me earlier in the season (defense still poor, but stronger and more flexible in style, team making more adjustments - like 1-3-1 and our attack of creighton 1-3-1, seniors seem to be stepping up and playing with more energy/leadership as well as making critical plays - particularly Luke, KR and Duane somewhat counts in this group).

So we fight hard, stay competitive in big games and win a few?  Call me satisfied.

I stand by my comment after the G-Town win and Seton Hall loss - no complaints if that team keeps showing up

Get out of here with your performance analysis.  There are plenty of other threads to put that crap.  This one is only for the feels.

[MomofMUltiples]

Speaking of which, anyone notice Travis Diener was not at the game?  Last night's win was only the second best thing that happened to him yesterday.  Apparently baby Luca Lyle Diener was born as well.

Glow is updating the recruiting thread as we speak.

https://twitter.com/DienerTravis/status/824100517278322688

[g0lden3agle]

I didn't realize people went to Jim's Time Out of their own free will

[warriorchick]

I didn't realize people went to Jim's Time Out of their own free will

It was much cooler back in my day when it was the "Ding Dong Bar".  it had cool animated neon lights of bells ringing on the front.

And no, it was not a gay club.

[mu03eng]

This morning:






When Hauser wrangled the last rebound and I basically fainted in my wife's arms

[BM1090]

No it was not, but I bet a bunch of folks are kicking themselves for not going.

Also, I found out that it is Rush Week at Marquette, and most of the fraternities and sororities had mandatory attendance last night for members as well as all of the kids who are rushing.  That probably took at least a couple hundred kids out of the student section.

I had class from 5:30 to 8:15. I gave my two tickets to friends and had them buy me a 3rd ticket so I could meet up with them following the game. I didn't want to miss any of the game but decided I'd make the responsible decision and attend class since The Graduate School costs about $200 per class.

Anyways. I looked at the score when I left...saw we were down 16. I almost didn't even go, since I wouldn't get there until about the 13 minute mark. I quickly changed my mind and sprinted to the BC.

I would have never forgiven myself if I hadn't gone. Outside of NCAA tournament wins and the Big East Championship, it was the best Marquette-related moment of my life. Pure jubilation.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Beating Cincinnati in 2002 & 2003 had great court storming. Fans stayed forever in those win as well.

[Loose Cannon]

Get out of here with your performance analysis.  There are plenty of other threads to put that crap.  This one is only for the feels.

Very Well Said, Speaks for me.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

CBS  highlited the storming of the court on
8 a.m. headlines

[blikemike2]

Announced attendance 14126

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Very Well Said, Speaks for me.

Sorry guys didn't mean it that way -- I'll delete it.

[Loose Cannon]

Sorry guys didn't mean it that way -- I'll delete it.

Thanks, you're a Good man.

[79Warrior]

The reaction of the crowd was several years of pent up frustration getting unleashed. This fan base has been longing for this type of win for a few years. The fact that so many people, students and alums, stayed so long after the game to soak it in shows how much it meant to MU. This was Wojo's first opportunity to see how electric the BC can be, just a great night for MU basketball. Even Raft and Brando seemed genuinely excited for MU in the extended post game coverage.

[Loose Cannon]

  Magnificent Post Brew, seemed like pure insight on the emotions of many.    Thanks for Sharing.

[MUfan12]

After a few pops downtown our group ventured back to campus to see what the vibe was like. We like to give the students crap, but I'm genuinely happy for them. I was at the bar talking with some seniors who were in total disbelief, they never experienced anything like last night. Made sure to buy a round for 'em.

Celebrating with friends and strangers, hearing from people all over the country, it was a beautiful night.

[muwarrior69]

Great post, Brew.

Speaking of rushing the floor, I took some video from our seats in the upper bowl, and then I said to glow, "Let's go down there!"  All of the entrances from the concourse were blocked off by security, so we decided to see if we could sneak in from the Courtside Club.  When we got down there, we saw that we could, and as I was singularly focused on getting to the court, I heard glow (who was a couple of paces behind me), saying, "Great game, Coach!  Congratulations!"  I turned around, and glow was shaking Wojo's hand, who had been walking basically unaccompanied to the press room while his team was still standing on the scorer's table.

That game is going to right up there with the 2013 Butler/MU game at the NCAA's as far as the greatest games I have seen in person.

So far, that is...

Well if I'm guilty of any sin it's envy. I really do envy that you and other alums get to see those games in person and do hope you see more exciting games in the future. The only chance I get to see MU in person is when they play Seton Hall, St. Johns (at the Garden) or Nova at the Wells Fargo Center. It's not the same as being at a home game. Perhaps one of these years I'll make a trip out and brave a Milwaukee winter once again and cheer them on.

Beating Kentucky in Madison at the Mid East regionals in '69 and winning the NIT in '70 were pretty exciting for me, especially beating LSU in the semi-final and holding Pistol Pete to his all-time lowest scoring game was sweet.

[Goose]

Great post, Brew!!

[Skitch]

No worries.  I am having major focusing issues today in general. Been at work for almost two hours and haven't gotten a lick of work done.

You should have used this

https://twitter.com/muathletics/status/824119427209842692?s=09

[StillAWarrior]

My own personal experience -- and near tragedy.

On my way home from work, I called my daughter and asked her to record the game.  I figured I'd probably end up starting it about 15-30 minutes late, catch up to live and watch the end.  Usually I program the DVR to record an additional hour, but since I would be watching the end live, I didn't bother asking my daughter to record the extra time.

I settled in and began watching with my daughter -- starting about 30 minutes late.  Like everyone else, I was discouraged, frustrated, etc.  I couple of things came up, so I had to pause it a couple of times.  Then things started happening!

I looked at the time and realized it was 10:07 (EST) and there were still a couple minutes on the game clock.  Panic!  I check the DVR and it's not recording any more!  "Sh!t!  I'm not going to see the end of this freaking game."  Marquette had just cut it to three.  I saw that there was only about 90 seconds more recorded.  I immediately hit record on the next scheduled show on FS1, praying that the game went at least seven minutes past the scheduled time.  I went back to the recorded game and watched and saw Villanova extend it to five with Brunson's layup -- 70-65.  Then the recording stopped.

I said a little prayer and hit play on the next recording, hoping I had the end of the game.  It started up...70-70, and Duane at the line.  I sure would have liked to have seen those 27 seconds and five points, but you have no idea how happy I was to see the final 46 seconds.  I came "this close" to missing it.

[warriorchick]

You should have used this

https://twitter.com/muathletics/status/824119427209842692?s=09

Are you kidding?

That's been filled out and posted on the door of my office since 8:00 this morning.

[Warriors4ever]

It was indeed a great evening to be at the BC  When we were missing free throw after free throw, audible groans from the crowd and the players were clearly getting frustrated as well.  We are in the UD, so took some shots of the crowd on the court.  No one wanted to leave.

[tower912]

At the 8 minute mark, I started composing my game thoughts post.    Full of lamentation, freshmen will grow up, outhustled, Villanova is what we aspire to, yadayadayada.     68-55 and MU scores.   And scores again.   Whoa!    I open up a second tab and start doing a second game thoughts post, the one that got printed.    For the last 4 minutes, I made small changes to each post, virtually on a possession by possession basis.  I am sitting there giddily laughing as I go back and forth between the two scoop pages, one full of joy, one full of frustration. 

I really appreciate how FS1 chose to stay in Milwaukee well outside the time boundaries to show the exhilaration, interview Wojo and Katin in the moment and just soak in the emotion.   

[jsglow]

Great post, Brew.

Speaking of rushing the floor, I took some video from our seats in the upper bowl, and then I said to glow, "Let's go down there!"  All of the entrances from the concourse were blocked off by security, so we decided to see if we could sneak in from the Courtside Club.  When we got down there, we saw that we could, and as I was singularly focused on getting to the court, I heard glow (who was a couple of paces behind me), saying, "Great game, Coach!  Congratulations!"  I turned around, and glow was shaking Wojo's hand, who had been walking basically unaccompanied to the press room while his team was still standing on the scorer's table.

That game is going to right up there with the 2013 Butler/MU game at the NCAA's as far as the greatest games I have seen in person.

So far, that is...

It was a nice moment. Wojo was essentially 'alone' for a few seconds in what seemed like a 'Jimmy V' moment. I don't recall exactly what he quickly said to me but it's clear he was happy for both the players and the fans.  Oh, and another suit/tie/shirt is heading to the dry cleaners.

[fjm]

Watching the replay right now.. (If you haven't had a chance, definitely get the FoxGo app and try to catch the replay). They are at the 3:30 mark where it went SwaggyDu STOP AND GO!!! layup, missed Nova 3, and then the Hauser 3 with 2 seconds left on the shot clock to make it 68-65... Man the BC blew up with that 3. So awesome just to hear on TV. Better in person, but on TV still amazing. Gives me goose bumps.

[brewcity77]

Watching the replay right now.. (If you haven't had a chance, definitely get the FoxGo app and try to catch the replay). They are at the 3:30 mark where it went SwaggyDu STOP AND GO!!! layup, missed Nova 3, and then the Hauser 3 with 2 seconds left on the shot clock to make it 68-65... Man the BC blew up with that 3. So awesome just to hear on TV. Better in person, but on TV still amazing. Gives me goose bumps.

Rewatched the last 6 minutes. Teared up at the end. Not as much as the open tears of joy last night, but still a great, emotional watch.

[mu_hilltopper]

Speaking of Sam grabbing that rebound as time ran out .. was it just me, or weren't you all thinking, wait, that can't be the end, wasn't there a whistle or some timekeeping issue or something that means Nova gets another chance?

Then all the students rush the court, and I'm thinking, here we go, gonna take 10 minutes to get those kids off the court so Nova can play another 2 seconds. 

Took a good minute to shake that, like really, it's really really over?

[CrowdOf5]

Speaking of Sam grabbing that rebound as time ran out .. was it just me, or weren't you all thinking, wait, that can't be the end, wasn't there a whistle or some timekeeping issue or something that means Nova gets another chance?

Then all the students rush the court, and I'm thinking, here we go, gonna take 10 minutes to get those kids off the court so Nova can play another 2 seconds. 

Took a good minute to shake that, like really, it's really really over?

I thought the exact same thing. Honestly I heard a whistle and thought they fouled Sam, then the students came, and I thought crap this will take awhile. But for some odd reason, Nova didn't foul Sam the instant he grabbed the board for whatever reason (as far as I can remember there was still time on the clock when he did).

[brewcity77]

I thought the exact same thing. Honestly I heard a whistle and thought they fouled Sam, then the students came, and I thought crap this will take awhile. But for some odd reason, Nova didn't foul Sam the instant he grabbed the board for whatever reason (as far as I can remember there was still time on the clock when he did).

Yeah, I wanna say he grabbed the rebound with around 1 second on the clock. There was time to foul him, they just didn't. Guess when you pretty much never lose, you forget what to do in those situations, like the Soviets not pulling the keeper in 1980.

[Loose Cannon]

Are you kidding?

That's been filled out and posted on the door of my office since 8:00 this morning.

What's the reaction been, Since DePaul is not going anywhere.

[BM1090]

Yeah, I wanna say he grabbed the rebound with around 1 second on the clock. There was time to foul him, they just didn't. Guess when you pretty much never lose, you forget what to do in those situations, like the Soviets not pulling the keeper in 1980.

It was mentioned in another thread I think, but they did foul him with about a second left. The ref called it and raised his arm. Started walking to the scorers table. The students stormed the court, and the refs just decided it was over.

[CrowdOf5]

It was mentioned in another thread I think, but they did foul him with about a second left. The ref called it and raised his arm. Started walking to the scorers table. The students stormed the court, and the refs just decided it was over.

Wow, if the shoe were on the other foot I'd be moderately upset even though the odds are small. A miss and a make and a 2/3 court shot isn't impossible. Oh well.

[warriorchick]

What's the reaction been, Since DePaul is not going anywhere.

Not a lot of hoops fans in my office. It's mostly doctors and pointy-headed PhDs.

They know I am a big Marquette  fan,  though, and I was touched by the number of folks who came by to congratulate me, even before they saw my "note". And none of them were sports fans of any substance, so that shows you how much news coverage it got, even in Chicago.

[warriorchick]

The students stormed the court, and the refs just decided it was over.

So I guess that means we need to stop trashing the "lame" student section,  ay'na? They won the game for us.

[RJax55]

It was mentioned in another thread I think, but they did foul him with about a second left. The ref called it and raised his arm. Started walking to the scorers table. The students stormed the court, and the refs just decided it was over.

Yes, it was the sideline official. Called a foul with .9 left on the clock. He was headed over to the scorer's table, but the rush of students overwhelmed the floor. The crew just decided, screw this, game over.

Wright is a classy coach. With that little time left, Nova didn't really have a shot to win, but plenty of other coaches would have blown a gasket and would have been whining about it all during the press conference.

[MerrittsMustache]

Yes, it was the sideline official. Called a foul with .9 left on the clock. He was headed over to the scorer's table, but the rush of students overwhelmed the floor. The crew just decided, screw this, game over.

Wright is a classy coach. With that little time left, Nova didn't really have a shot to win, but plenty of other coaches would have blown a gasket and would have been whining about it all during the press conference.

The official raised his hand trying to get a jump on things, assuming that Nova would foul. The Nova defender got close to Hauser but never actually tried to foul him. If the player had made an obvious attempt to foul, they would have called it. The crew didn't let the call go because of the students. They did so because they recognized that Nova was conceding.

[BM1090]

The official raised his hand trying to get a jump on things, assuming that Nova would foul. The Nova defender got close to Hauser but never actually tried to foul him. If the player had made an obvious attempt to foul, they would have called it. The crew didn't let the call go because of the students. They did so because they recognized that Nova was conceding.

That may be true, but the ref definitely blew his whistle and raised his hand with 1 second left. You can see and hear it on replay. So, he made the call.

[RJax55]

That may be true, but the ref definitely blew his whistle and raised his hand with 1 second left. You can see and hear it on replay. So, he made the call.

Exactly. The call was made. The issue was that the official who made the call was on the sideline across from the scorer's table. By the time he got to the table, the students were already on the court.

[mugrad2006]

I'm in the UD and I could see the sideline official just kind of give up on the foul call as he tried to walk through the swarm of fans. Given how replay has killed momentum and emotion at the end of games, I'm glad they didn't turn it into a thing.

I mean, that's why we watch, right? For the moment.

[jsglow]

Wow, if the shoe were on the other foot I'd be moderately upset even though the odds are small. A miss and a make and a 2/3 court shot isn't impossible. Oh well.

And I think Jay Wright played it perfectly.  He knew what happened.  A little show of respect to MU and the BEast.

[Loose Cannon]

Not a lot of hoops fans in my office. It's mostly doctors and pointy-headed PhDs.

They know I am a big Marquette  fan,  though, and I was touched by the number of folks who came by to congratulate me, even before they saw my "note". And none of them were sports fans of any substance, so that shows you how much news coverage it got, even in Chicago.

 
Thanks, Chicago's a Great sports Town and now maybe we get a bigger pipeline to MU.  Wojo  knows' the area (recruiting) well. 

[Slim]

I vote Jim's Time Out for post game Scoop bar!

Great post Brew!

[Afroman]

Nice post and I enjoyed the video. Wish I was there.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Nice post and I enjoyed the video. Wish I was there.

Were you gonna go.....but you got high?

[fjm]

Oh man! Remember when we beat Villanova...
That was awesome!