Peter Hooley shocked me back to Brooklyn and my early childhood. I was in the midst of celebrating my 11th day of life when Bobby Thompson homered off Ralph Branca to give the Giants their most unlikely National League Championship (they called it winning the pennant back then) but the memory still pains. And so, understand that “The Shot Heard ‘Round The Campus” will forever impact our lives. The way taking Organic Chemistry as a second semester freshman when there are multiple snow days impacts our lives.

But could a nicer guy break our hearts? This noble young man, from the other side of the earth, left his team to travel home mid season to spend time with his mother as she slipped from life, only to return to The Capitol to inflict our mortal wound. “O death, where is thy sting?, O grave, where is thy victory?”

Hooley, unlike Thompson, is a genuine star on his team. A journalism major with the taste of the dramatic, he plays the role of Marcus Brutus on this, the Ides of March, carrying out the will of Cassius Brown. “But Peter is an honourable man.” No, really, Peter is an honorable man. And to think, I came to bury Hooley, not to praise him…

As our Seawolves continue their impersonation of the lovable Brooklyn Bums I retain my optimism, faith and devotion to our guys. The Dodgers eventually won it all, made all the sweeter by swallowing many a bitter pill of victory swiped. Courage, commitment and fortitude in the face of adversity are noble experiences, while an easy life is a life unappreciated.

The joy of celebrating victories seems tempered by suffering defeat, but defeat is its own celebration. Our shared experiences make us the individuals we are and further the building of our communities. Experiencing the lows with the highs (and we’ve had many highs!) allows us to deepen our commitment to one another and deepen our understanding of one another.

Jameel, Carson, Scott, and the rest of the team are an inspiration. Their commitment to win never wavered and they battled like warriors. For themselves, and for us. They didn’t win, but they sure as hell didn’t lose.

And what an extraordinary community, we have! I’m proud of our team, and our coaches. Their commitment to education and success is as good as can be found. A society they populate is a society in which I want to live.

Our band and spirit squads make me prouder every day, and wondering how that’s even possible. They manage defeat as they engage victory. Consistently proud, consistently inspiring. Consistent growth and deepened commitments to themselves and to each other.

Consistently Seawolves

Nothing smells more like defeat than scanning the scoreboard and noting that your team, attending a seminar in the fine art of 3 point shooting, faces the prospect of spending the final three quarters of a game with 2 remaining time outs while The Professor has all 5 in his pocket. And to experience a famished fan base, in this foreign land, delirious for the taste of canis lupus de la mer? That smells like defeat too. Oh, and Sparky McPuriefoy, scolded by zebras, needing to reacquaint himself with a folding chair? Odorous. Rarely has a 12 point halftime deficit seemed so insurmountable.

I overheard Coach Pikiell tell his players (okay, he screamed it) that they were going to win the game, and that they had a plan! I took comfort in noting that the university hospital was adjacent to Patrick Gym. Just in case, I thought… But something about Coach’s delivery shook me from my slumber and gave me goose bumps, and I wistfully thought of my Tommy Brenton jersey sitting on the wall at home. “I could use that right now”, I thought….”Wait, what?!” I gingerly tapped my head to clear my thoughts.

As the 2nd half began, Chris and I hid behind the end line, mumbling the day’s mantra: “keep chipping away, boys, keep chipping away”. There would be no “chipping away”. Instead, a demolition. Somehow, impossibly, the team sprinted; 32-6 turned a 12 point deficit into an 11 point lead. An explosion had my adrenaline kicking in; or was that the 3rd cup of coffee from breakfast?

No, our guys were now lecturing on “Courage and Conviction in the Second Half: Herculean Efforts to be Demonstrated”. Deshaun, in the role of hero du jour, scored 16 second half points! And Trey, not to be outdone, put up 15 more. And Ray and Trey celebrated the Feast of the Four Fouls with what seemed like 10 minutes of game time remaining! And, oh, yeah, Mr P.O.Y. Warney, doing what he does and scoring 24. Just another day for him; leading the nation with 22 double-doubles, as is his want. LEADING THE NATION, I said! And the team scored 50 second half points. Five-Oh!

But taking ownership of Patrick Gym during a playoff game? Priceless! The band and cheerleaders were at their unequaled best! Cued by the team, they picked up the charge and dominated the sound and passion in the old place for 10 full minutes. Stunned silence befell the rest of the hall, but our students Would. Not. Quit! They dominated, as they do better than anyone, anywhere. “And Our Cheers Shall Reign With Impunity!” What a moment.

But give Coach Pikiell and his staff the game ball. Adversity, not content with visiting the doorstep, had broken through and stepped inside. Coach was having none of it. This wasn’t just inspiration, though. It was a management seminar. Pikiell was the pilot in the flight simulator given an impossible situation: “your left wing fell off, land the plane”. And he did. And today there is A Mounted Cat on the Basketball Office wall. And we will forevermore remember this day as it happened in Vermont. The day Coach Pikiell convinced a team to create and perform in “The Miracle of the Two Time Outs”.