Oh I agree that Elite 8 and Sweet 16 runs have been few and far between, but isn't that what we want as a fan? That was more what my point was to returning to the more glorious seasons. I can even handle seasons when you get beat by legitimate good/great teams, but seasons like this year where we lose twice to Pepperdine or to San Diego? Come on, that's just doesn't cut it.
I grew up a Cleveland Indians fan. The 60's, then the 70's, then the 80's and nothing (2nd or 3rd place finish at best), but I was still a fan. Yet there was always the hope in a new season and I don't know that people follow sports much (unless their kids are playing) for teams that don't ever excel. There will always be loyal and true fans of every program, but I've learned a lot over these last couple of years that maybe allowing some sport to affect my enjoyment of life is taking it too far. For me that's been a hard lesson learned, because that is where I was. There's just too much quality stuff to do to waste time if someone is not going to give you their best.
I attended BYU for three years, but I actually graduated from the University of Akron. Talk about sports teams that never seem to excel and yet you care about them. Akron has been to one bowl game and a few times into the NCAA tournament, but every years it's watching them chase their own tails and that's why, beyond the Acme-Zip game (Akron vs. Kent State), if they get a thousand fans, they're feeling good about themselves. That's when sport teams are hard to follow--but that hope never diminishes.
