Unabated Sports

As much as I love the rivalry game, the Crosstown Shootout has been a very painful event for me as a UC alum. Year-in and year-out, the Muskies have been a thorn in the Bearcat's paw. I can still remember the ball bouncing off Charles Williams's foot setting up Lenny Brown's game-winning shot that knocked off the #1 team in the country right before Thanksgiving in 1996. That wasn't the first time that David slung a stone that felled Goliath. Kenyon Martin led the team to a #1 ranking in 1999, and Xavier led them right into another ambush. But did the Muskateers return the favor when they were the superior squad? No. Remember that painful display of basketball in '02? That was when David West scored half the points necessary as both teams, even #16 Xavier, struggled to get above 40 points when I turned off the tube in disgust. I was in the house at the Cincinnati Gardens in 1997 as #10 XU dominated a weakened UC team that had to pull players off the football team to fill the bench. (Sound familiar?)

Sure, UC won half of the last 16 games so the rivalry has been pretty even. But, considering that the talent level is usually higher for the Black and Red, it's been frustrating because as painful as the losses have been, the wins haven't even been close to feeling that good. I mean, congrats. But most years, you're supposed to win. Sometimes, being the "big brother" of a rivalry isn't very rewarding.