A long day on the road and a long game has me very tired but happy about the Heels winning it all. Normally I rant and rave but tonight I actually took the game in quite subdued and reflective This was not a pretty title run, but you beat who you play and ain't nobody awarding style points. My initial reaction is this was not for opportunity lost last year but for all the times UNC has had a team that could win it all but didn't, because winning a NCAA title is mighty tough. It will be interesting how history remembers this team. WOW Roy now has more trophies than Dean Smith and will soon pass him in wins in about three years, but as he said he will never be Dean because of the man Dean was.
Even if it's not pretty, as long as the NCAA doesn't vacate it, nobody can take it away, and championships are special things. Whether it's a dominant team running through everyone or a scrappy team pulling out several upsets or just a businesslike team just getting the job done, winning that last game and cutting down the nets is a forever moment.
I was actually shocked to hear on the radio this morning that Florida's a preseason top 5/top 10 team depending on the poll. And then I was really shocked to hear that they've been in the elite 8 five of the past eight years - and that doesn't even include the back to back titles last decade. When I think back to it, logically it makes sense - they did go four straight years and did make the Final Four in the last of those four, but the two years outside of the tournament kind of makes that feel further in the past. It's amazing to think they're now in the top 16 in tournament wins alltime when I remember that they first made the tournament with Vernon Maxwell and of course didn't even get to keep those appearances because of NCAA sanctions.