For Knight’s sake, boo New England

When the Indianapolis Colts fueled my desire to take up base-jumping Sunday, I needed to try to find my happy place again. The weather is cold, my class load is growing and a Colts-less NFL playoff season makes me want to go into hibernation. If there is one thing I have learned about sports, it’s that hope springs eternal. \nFor this sports fan, IU has reinvigorated me. This winter, several Hoosier teams are off to great starts. The IU women’s basketball team is ahead of in-state rival and perennial conference powerhouse Purdue in the Big Ten. The wrestling team put up impressive performances on a national stage and a young freshman, Bloomington native Kurt Kinser, is on pace to shatter the school record for most pins in a season. Did I mention the men’s basketball team is ranked No. 9 in the nation?\nYes, IU sports are having a winter to remember. What could possibly dampen our spirits?\nThe New England Patriots. The team is on a tear of historic proportions and has a chance to become the first undefeated team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins went 17-0. On a grander scale, if the Patriots win the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, it will be the most impressive undefeated season, excluding college football, since the 1975-1976 IU men’s basketball team went a single season without losing a game.\nThis is a pretty outlandish argument, but I take pride in my school being the last Division I team to run the table. Every year in college basketball, one or two teams challenge the mark early in the season only to falter and fail. It has become too difficult to go undefeated in any sport because good competition has leveled the playing field. That’s why what Bobby Knight and the ’76 Hoosiers did is so special.\nMany of us who grew up Hoosier fans watched games with our dads and remember hearing them spout off stories about the ’76 team when Scott May was hitting jumpers from the elbow and Coach Knight roamed the sidelines engaged as if in war (hence his nickname “The General”). Just talking about the Hoosier glory gives me goose bumps. I wish I could have witnessed the magic. \nBeyond going 32-0, the Hoosiers beat the 1972 Soviet Union Olympic championship team in Indianapolis by a whopping 16 points. They also became the first team to be ranked No. 1 wire-to-wire for the entire duration of a season. Many claim they would have gone undefeated two years in a row, but May broke his arm the previous season. IU only faltered once in the 1974-1975 season, a 92-90 loss to Kentucky in the Elite Eight that left the Hoosiers 31-1.\nWith the undefeated season, the Hoosiers gave IU and Bloomington something to be proud of. \nBut the title of most impressive undefeated season is under attack by the hated Patriots. I beg you to root against New England at all costs. The Patriots are approaching sacred ground that no one has been able to walk in men’s sports since the ’76 IU team. \nFor Knight’s sake, I hope one of the three teams left in the NFL playoffs is tough enough to stick its foot out and trip the Patriots.