The Falcons beating the Bulls is what makes sports so great.
The victory on Friday night meant more, so much more to the fans, the community and, most importantly, the winning team. It means more than just another one in the win column and a first place spot in the MAC standings. It means more because it was unlike anything in years.
When winning comes in spades, you start to value it less and less. Like it or not, this is a truth. It should be considered a sports law. The converse is also true. As winning becomes more and more scarce, you cherish the victories more.
When the Cavaliers beat the Warriors in the Finals in 2016, it meant so much more to the people of Cleveland than it means to anybody rooting for the Warriors, who have won the last two Finals and will likely capture a third this June. Winning doesn’t always come easy for the Cavs, which made the victory so much sweeter. When Michigan snags a victory from Ohio State in football (which is few and far between these days), it means more to the Wolverines fans than it does to the Buckeyes. Sorry, but winning your seventh straight isn’t as valuable to you as Michigan’s one win in 15 meetings.
This is what it meant to the Falcon fans on Friday. To finally beat the better team. To win the big game in the big moment. The Falcons have struggled for so long, and they were finally rewarded this weekend with an all-time victory. It took years of heartbreak for us to appreciate and celebrate it as we do. For any major basketball school, that was just another game. Not to the BGSU community. I’m not saying you should lose a lot and win a little for you to appreciate it, but fans very easily lose perspective.
The team behind the victory on Friday was one that absolutely no one — including this writer — thought would do anything significant. This is a team that trudged through their previous seasons. Head coach Michael Huger has never had a winning season with the Falcons. Even as I write this, after all the wins this season is producing, his record is below .5.
I remember looking at the projected finishes of the MAC schools in October and seeing BGSU picked dead last.
“How bad will this year be?” I thought to myself.
Then December rolled around, and the team had a losing record. It seemed like the team was par for the course, but something happened. The Falcons strung together a few wins to finish the year and begin MAC play. Even more unexpected, when conference play began, they won. They won on the road; they won at home (they’re still undefeated as I write this). Suddenly, this team was defying all expectations. It looked as if they could contend for a MAC title.
Then came the catchup against Buffalo. And the team won. It was the most packed the Stroh has ever been. And after 40 minutes of game action, the Falcons managed to come out on top. The team that wasn’t supposed to do anything significant this year have made all the right shots, done all the right things. When the students poured onto the court, that showed just how much it meant to them. If this game happened at Buffalo and the outcome was flipped, no students are rushing the court.
In a time when many of the high profile sports at BGSU struggle to win, this basketball team is completely changing the narrative.
