We live in an age of political divisiveness. You’re on my team, or you are the enemy, and I want you to fail. The pettiness has never been so clear or crude.
It is also nothing new to our major universities in Arizona. It has been the central theme of the Territorial Cup and the ancient blood feud between Sun Devils and Wildcats for many decades. You are expected to wish the worst on the other side and to wallow in their misfortune, with no exceptions.
What a shame. Those moored to reflexive hate are missing a great basketball team, one that has reached the Final Four for the first time in 25 years. A team that has been knocking down hurdles all season long, and their victory against Purdue on Saturday was no different.
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Trailing by seven points early in the second half, with panic spreading throughout the city of Tucson, the Wildcats did not fold. They attacked the basket like kamikaze pilots, performing with relentless aggression. Facing all those ghosts and demons, they went out and took what could not be denied.
There is also a fascinating and unnerving subplot unfolding with Tommy Lloyd, who is rumored to be a frontrunner for the head coaching vacancy at North Carolina. After winning the West Regional on Saturday, Lloyd warmed hearts by giving praise to the late Lute Olson, who laid the groundwork for a vaunted program, for refusing to leave what he had built from scratch.
Does Lloyd share that same loyalty to the University of Arizona? During Saturday’s press conference, Lloyd raised fears and eyebrows by saying the following:
“You know, the sun may be shining on this team and me coaching it right now, but when it’s shining on you, you’ve got to fight to protect it and build it. So that’s what I feel like my No. 1 responsibility is, to fight to protect the program and fight to build it for those who came before me and for those who are going to follow after me because, you know what, Arizona is going to have another good coach after me. I promise you. The place is special.”
It might be the sound of a coach preparing to say goodbye. Or it might be Lloyd exerting his extensive leverage to gain more resources for himself and the program when the scales are tipped in his favor, just like Kenny Dillingham shrewdly did at ASU.
Either way, Arizona has punched a ticket to a star-studded Final Four, part of a marquee foursome that will descend upon Indianapolis, site of the Wildcats’ first and only championship in 1997.
In a perfect world, Arizona’s basketball team could unite us all. And with all due respect to the Mercury, Rattlers, Rising and a host of local title-winning college teams, the region hasn’t seen an Arizona sports team win a big-ticket sporting event since the Diamondbacks in 2001. That’s a long time.
Look, I’m a big fan of rivalries. I see nothing wrong with Sun Devils and Wildcats fighting like siblings when they compete against one another, with all the smoke that accompanies one of the most intense feuds in college sports. I also see nothing wrong in a begrudging golf-clap show of respect when the other is playing for a championship. A title that will break a drought and bring reflected glory to everyone in Arizona, making us all look good.
Alas, I’ve been blowing horn for 30 years now, and nothing has changed. Except for one big thing:
Diehard and longtime Arizona fans have been liberated from a long nightmare. They have been delivered from all those gut-wrenching losses, and all the torment and trolling that ensued. Their faith and their fandom have been rewarded, and their joy coursed throughout the Valley on Saturday night.
Imagine how Suns fans are going to feel when their day in the sun finally arrives.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta mornings from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports.
Follow @danbickley
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