Brian Out Loud
In that loss, the Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed.
That’s end of the world material right there, especially when you lose by 20 (74-54).
And keep in mind Virginia was the overall No. 1 seed in the tourney. It was the team no one was supposed to be able to beat.
Bouncing back after failing to live up to expectations after a brutal loss, a loss that rips away your hopes of being a national champion and turns you into a national embarrassment, is the kind of challenge most can’t or won’t overcome.
In fact, when Virginia trailed Gardner-Webb 36-30 at halftime in the opening round this year, I called the Cavaliers out on social media, tweeting that if they lose the game, they deserve a lifetime ban on ever being a No. 1 seed again.
Twice in that game, the Cavaliers were down 14 points to a team making its first tourney appearance in program history and yet looking as if it was poised to make history.
But Virginia rallied for a win it needed badly, notching a 71-56 victory to kickstart a tourney run filled with heart-stopping moments.
The Cavaliers beat Oregon by four, 53-49, in the Sweet 16 and needed overtime to survive Purdue in an 80-75 win. The Final Four opened with a crazy 63-62 win over Auburn that stomped on the hearts of SEC fans everywhere.
The title game featured a showdown with Texas Tech, a football school that has suddenly shown it can play basketball as well.
America expected an ugly dogfight that would set college basketball back 30 years. First one to 15 wins. Twenty if you wanted to be generous.
It was a thriller instead, the Cavaliers prevailing 85-77 in OT in a memorable showdown for the title. From one dreadful moment to one shining moment, Virginia completed a redemption story for the ages.
No one is laughing now. But we should be paying attention.
There are, after all, valuable lessons to be learned from Virginia’s run to a championship.
Life is all about getting knocked down and getting back up again. We all go through it at one time or another. We can make excuses or continue to fight. Virginia chose to fight, to silence the doubters.
The resiliency the Cavaliers displayed, the ability to shake off a difficult moment in which the entire country is laughing at you, is impressive to say the least. It reminds us that nothing is impossible.
Virginia’s story is a reminder that a team can work together to overcome a moment when you just want to crawl into a corner or under a blanket and forget it ever happened.
Virginia didn’t forget. It did what we all should always do, and that is let failure make us stronger.
You can be down in life, or in sports, but you don’t ever have to be out.
Virginia proved as much last Monday night in the national championship game.