Sports Worries

I'm worried about tonight. But it's not for the normal reasons. I'm really not much of a worrier about most things in life, but I'm definitely a sports worrier. I worry about how the teams I root for will handle their games. For instance, even though I'm not a true fan, I worried about how the Colts would handle the Steelers this past Monday. Rationally, I thought the Colts had too many weapons for the 'Burghers. Plus the game was in Indy, in the dome, and the crowd was sure to be fired up. Also, Big Ben was coming off a few week absence due to knee surgery, and he was bound to be rusty. But I was still concerned about how it would play out.

Maybe the Colts-Steelers game isn't a good example, though. Obviously I would be concerned about a big game like that. But I worry about the games my teams should win. What if the team overlooks this opponent? What if they aren't focused enough? What if they go out partying the night before and come in with whippet-induced hangovers? What if someone gets hurt?

It's especially true for IU basketball. The Hoosiers could be scheduled to play the Sisters of Mercy School for Visually-Impaired Paraplegics, and I'd be fretting that we might get burned by their outside shooting, that we might get into early foul trouble, or that we would -- gasp! -- fail to box out on the defensive glass.

But the Hoosiers are not playing SoMVIP tonight. They're playing Duke. It's a home game, the Hoosiers are underdogs, and Duke is starting a freshman who spurned IU for the Dookies (well, spurned isn't really accurate, but I don't think the students will care). BUT, as a certain, leprechaun-looking ex-UVA head coach used to say, "Duke is Duke." They'll still have the Ferret coaching them. They'll still have Shooter Without a Conscience JJ Redick and Favorite of All Officials (and possible Star Wars character) Shelden Williams leading the way. So of course I'm worried.

But what really worries me is that I'm feeling more excited than anything about the game. I think my Hoosiers have a chance to play with these guys. Memphis and Drexel both took them down to the wire, and I think the Indiana boys are better than both of those teams. The Hoosiers have played their first three games beautifully. They have lots of depth and people who can score both inside and out. They're playing as a team. There's no chance that the high-profile coach of the other team could get into the IU coach's head and own him (like this guy obviously has), as he already owns one glorious victory over the Ferret. The game is going to be in stunningly lucid, better-than-real-life high definition, which is simply marvelous (even if I do have to suffer the biggest Duke fan of all, Dookie Vitale). I keep thinking about these things, and I have hope.

But that worries me. Because I should probably be more worried. It's hard to be me.