-Isms: Views on life in rural America

I’ve never considered myself a Jays fan. I couldn’t name any of the team members. Greg McDermott’s the coach, right? Kyle Korver is greatest example of what it means to bleed blue, right? (I did catch his inspirational locker room speech.)

Over the weekend, though, for a short time, I balanced on the precipice of becoming a Jaysker. I didn’t take the deep dive, though. My tribe of Husker fanatics kept me in check. A screenshot of Nebraska’s 63-53 victory over the Bluejays, on Dec. 4, provided perspective. Several memes with crying birds also brought chuckles.

Sure, back in November, Tom Shatel tabbed Creighton to make it to the last four teams standing. He was almost right.

Almost doesn’t count in basketball though.

Nope. Creighton returns to semi-chilly Omaha after a controversial call with 1.2 seconds remaining gave San Diego State University its first visit to the semifinals with a 57-56 win.

Yes, the foul called on Ryan Nembhard is debatable. Does his hand on the hip of Aztec shooter Darrion Trammell cause him to miss an easy two-point shot? Did it affect the ball’s trajectory? In my opinion, no. But I’m not the one on the court, making a call in the heat of the moment.

My problem with the foul is that there were a number - and by number I mean more than 10 - of other shots in the game that had similar circumstances - bodies and elbows nudging into chests and arms that were not called on either side of the basket. It was physical, smashmouth basketball, with the highest stakes on the line.

Is the foul the only reason Creighton lost? If you look at Creighton fans’ reactions via the socials, yes. Oh, dear Jays fans, did you forget about the dry spell that lasted approximately eight minutes in the second half? Did you not see the number of points the Aztecs earned off offfensive rebounds? I think your team finished eight of nine from the charity stripe. That one missed shot would have meant a tie game as the buzzer sounded.

Overtime could have made all the difference.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

That’s the beauty (or heartbreak) of sports. There’s never a perfect game or an exact science to make the ball go ‘round the world and fall through the net instead of bouncing off the rim.

In sports, we’re all human - players, coaches, referees, fans. We all have our own perspective. Sometimes, the game doesn’t fall into black and white. It’s the gray area where so many contests are settled. It’s part of the game.

No matter who you cheer for, Coach McDermott deserves credit for keeping it classy and not placing blame. During the post-game presser, he said, “We don’t blame officials. We don’t make excuses. It may have been a bad call, it may have been the right call. It is what it is.”

What it is, if you’re a die-hard Creighton fan, is disappointing. Even those of us who live and die for Nebrasketball may feel a bit deflated after the other Nebraska team was eliminated. Wouldn’t it have been something to see a Nebraska-based team playing for a natty? Maybe next year.