Legends of (Pitino's) Fall

"I have become a hunter. Tell Stab there are creatures here that cannot even be found in books. And I have killed them all."

-- Tristan Ludlow

I'm back from my wilderness honeymoon, where I provided for my new bride with nothing more than my mitts and my wits. I'm a regular Tristan from "Legends of the Fall", my guilty movie-pleasure I allow myself and still keep my Man Card. Any guy that has seen the film and didn't have a smallish Brokeback crush on Tristan is lying. Only Pitt could take a role with that first name and turn it into the epitome of masculinity. What was I talking about? Oh, yea. I did just get married (to a woman, in case this is getting confusing) and we returned from the great outdoors today. Mr. Black delivered an instant-classic best man toast, transcript available upon request.

But even off the grid, the moment my ancient cellphone picked up a bar, I was bombarded with texts informing me of Gorgui Dieng's ineligibility. Immediate romance killer, and I've been stewing over it since.

Rick Pitino once wrote a book entitled "Success is a Choice". I'm not so sure. This "free will" thing just doesn't seem to hold sway, not for these Cards anyways. Luck, curses, and karma is king for this basketball program. From the moment the buzzer sounded on March 29, 2009, there hasn't been a basketball progam in the country as hexed as the Louisville Cardinals.

The list is too painful to recount, though Charlie Springer at Card Game gives some Cliff's Notes here. I'm not angry at Pitino as much as I marvel at the string of misfortune; the personal and professional errors that have lead us to a point where we're fielding a 2010 team that, barring miracles, is hoping for an NCAA tournament appearance at best, and missing the NIT at worst. 

At the height of the Sypher scandal, the meme was proposed that Pitino would have been a goner if not for the opening of the new arena and the need to sell tickets with his star power. To me, it's the opposite. The fanbase is psyched and brimming with pride for the new arena. It's ready to rally behind Siva's infectious smile, Kuric's "aww shucks" charm, and Preston Knowles' grit. It's Pitino's baggage that's dragging everyone down.

(Aside, this line of thinking is ludicrous. Since when has UofL basketball fretted ticket sales, and since when has this community favored "star power" in its coaches instead of genuine competence?)

But I'm done analyzing this situation logically. As I said at the top, this is up to fate. Riding out the storm without turning into a sniveling weasel is what makes a fan a fan, nigh perversely enjoyable.

The next few seasons will define Pitino's career as a Truman/Dewey-like resurrection, or an abject Nixon-like thud. Not much air in between.

I'm done defending, I'm done predicting. Higher forces seem to be at work, and I've resigned myself to my postion as just a fan that cares too much. I'm just hoping for redemption.