Big East, Big Stage

A wise, old sage once told me I was spoiled. And at the time, I didn’t really understand why. But watching this year’s Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden, I realize I definitely am.

Sure, I grew up watching some pretty amazing basketball. A Villanova fan, I saw year after year of nail-biting competition, stiff league competitors, and numerous NCAA tournament appearances. I watched Temple basketball under John Chaney shut down the opposition year after year. I lived through Texas Tech’s unstoppable streaks under Bobby Knight. I grew up knowing nothing but fantastic basketball.

Yeah, I was definitely spoiled.

I had heard tales of the legendary Rollie Massimino era. The year we were underdog champs. 1985. But, hey, I grew up in the Jay Wright Era. The NIT from ’02-’04. The Big Dance, well, every year since. Nothing but top caliber basketball. All the big names, from Randy Foye to Allan Ray to Kyle Lowry and Scottie Reynolds. Every game was either a blow-out (because we were just that good), or a buzzer-beater finish. You never wanted to miss a game. Big East basketball.

This year, the Big East, undoubtedly, is one of, if not the best, conference in the country. No single team dominates, a fifth of the AP Top 25 is Big East teams. While the Atlantic-10 Championship is hosted in Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall, the Big East gets the biggest basketball stage, Madison Square Garden. It’s the conference with the most passion, most emotion, most talent. Automatically, you know when you’re watching a Big East game. It’s always tied, always close, every possession’s a battle, and the coaches are screaming as much as the players on the court. Every person is involved in the action. And it’s all I’ve ever known.

Georgetown and West Virginia are tied at 13 with 9:52 left in the first half. I can’t tell you who’ll win or who’ll be the hero, but I’ll tell you I’m watching a good game. I can tell you every possession will matter, it’ll come down to a strong finish, and MSG won’t stop rocking until that final buzzer sounds. I’ll be honest, I don’t know who I’m cheering for (I really don’t like either…it’s a love for ‘Nova, thing…) but it doesn’t really matter. It’s a Big East game. There’s nothing like it in college basketball. So if I’m stuck watching the Big East for the rest of my life, it wouldn’t matter too much because every game is one worth seeing. Every game matters in this conference. Every basket’s worth watching.

I may be spoiled when it comes to watching college basketball, but it’s made me a better fan. The Big East comes with high standards—high passion, high talent. And that’s exactly what you get. So as the first half winds down here in Manhattan, it’s still a tight, physical game. And I’ve come to expect nothing less.

So call me spoiled. At least I’m watching the best college basketball conference out there.