Regardless of whether or not you’re a sports fan, everyone enjoys a thrilling moment and having the opportunity to experience history.
Just sit back for a moment and think big picture. Think history. Think of what it means to have a team from Mississippi State competing for a national championship in a big-four sport.
Last week the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs made history and made the entire state of Mississippi proud on an unbelievable ride that culminated Sunday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. To say that the run the Lady Bulldogs went on in the NCAA women’s tournament was unexpected would be a great understatement. While MSU was ranked No. 7 by the Associated Press in the final regular season poll, they were not expected to make it to Dallas nor to do what they did in Dallas.
While the Lady Bulldogs came up just short of capturing the crown, their road to the title game was one of the most difficult roads that any team has had to endure. MSU knocked off No. 12 Washington in the Sweet 16, No. 2 Baylor in the Elite 8 and, oh yeah, broke the 111 game winning streak of No. 1 Connecticut, who had one the last four national titles.
It was a ride that I was happy to experience. With my busy work schedule, I was unable to attend the Final Four game against UConn in Dallas on Friday, a city that I grew fond of after two years working in East Texas. But once the buzzer-beating shot went down, the decision was easy… I was going to Dallas for the National Championship.
As a sports nut, experiencing a national championship game is a rarity, but getting to attend a title game for a team that I have followed is even more rare. Within minutes after the remarkable UConn victory, which was marked by ESPN as one of the best games in NCAA Tournament history, I had purchased the tickets. My buddy Breck Riley and I were shortly going to be bound for Dallas.
The next morning, we made the 7-plus hour trip to Dallas in preparation for the Sunday showdown. After working as a sports writer for over eight years, I have experienced nearly everything you can imagine. I’ve covered Dallas Cowboys games. I’ve covered major college football. But nothing came close to the experience that I had as a fan rooting a team in a National Title game.
Of course, the game didn’t go the way we all wanted it too, but it’s something that I would do again if given the chance. The lack of sleep on Monday after an all-nighter driving back Sunday night was tough, but worth it for the experience of a lifetime.
Congratulations to the Lady Bulldogs on an incredible season; it was one heck of a ride.
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Joseph Brown is the editor and publisher of The Star-Herald. He can be reached at jbrown@starherald.net.
