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| The Ghost of Hoosiers Past |
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| [Ed. note: If you’ve yet to do so, email Flipside to request the clip of the cleaning lady singing the IU fight song (the one that was used in Hoosier basketball telecasts of old). The following article will mean little—if anything—to those who haven’t recently seen the footage.] |
| Who would have guessed it? Who would have guessed that over 200 people would request that we send them that old clip of Martha-the-Cleaning-Lady singing the IU fight song? Not me. When we made that offer, I thought that maybe—maybe—10 or 12 people would take us up on it. Ten or 12, at the most. But 200? Are you kidding? More surprisingly, who would have guessed that most of those who requested the clip would take the time to write back to Flipside, gratefully telling us how much those 60 seconds of nostalgia meant to them? The dozens and dozens of reply emails we recieved basically said the exact same thing: God, that brings back some good memories. Thank you…I needed that. So what does this overwhelming response to Martha’s pre-game performance tell us? Two things, really: (1) there are about 198 more Flipside readers than previously thought; and (2) IU basketball, in general, might be about 198 times worse off than previously feared. I guess in Hickory Husker terms, the first one don’t mean much…but the second one, we’re kind of forced to deal with. So let’s deal with it right now, once and for all. (Leave the ball, will ya, George?) It’s time to discard the Cream-and-Crimson-colored glasses and look at this realistically...it's time to answer the million-dollar question. Is it feasible that Mike Davis might have dragged IU to a depth that is actually lower than we originally suspected? At first glance, that doesn’t really seem possible. After all, what could be worse than multiple losing seasons or annually being thankful for an NIT bid? What could be worse than getting thundered by a sub-par Northwestern team while having more raw talent than any program in the country? Moreover, what could be worse than essentially dismantling a dynasty 50 years in the making while racking up the worst team GPA in the Big Ten? Really, from the university's perspective, is there anything lower than all that? Just this: the onset of apathy (also known as “rock bottom” for a one-time national powerhouse). Once apathy sets in among the fan-base, even relegating the program to "club" status becomes a mere lateral move. There is no lower ground. I’m talking about apathy at its most apathetic. I'm talking about not hating IU, but not loving them either. Not rooting against the Hoosiers, but also not rooting for them. Not caring one way or the other whether Mike Davis gets fired or not. Simply put, it's not caring about anything even remotely related to the program. I’m talking about Purgatory University. Personally speaking—and as much as I hate to say it—this is how I currently feel with Davis and the Hoosiers. And before you take the JMV route and mindlessly label me a fair-weather fan, understand this: I don’t care what you think. I know the truth. I know that the only thing I ever wanted growing up was the chance to play for IU; and I know how the vast majority of my childhood was spent as a means to that end. I know that the only thing I ever dreamt of—even while playing Division-I basketball in Florida—was the chance to play for the Hoosiers; and I know I was willing to give up my scholarship for a mere walk-on role in Bloomington. And I know that as soon as my NCAA eligibility washed up, my only regret was that I never got that chance. (Understand, I don't mention that to brag or to impress; after all, it is well known in most coaching circles that I was the worst Division I player in the history of NCAA basketball. I kid you not. Honestly, drawing attention to my collegiate career is analogous to Jonathan Bender drawing attention to his mental toughness...it's just not something I'm proud of, nor is it something I'd ordinarily bring up in casual conversations or rambling, semi-coherent articles. But in this instance, I simply had to—for no other reason than to add credibility for what I’m about to say.) When it comes to IU, I’m about as “fair weather” as a February sleet storm. I dedicated the better part of my life to the singular goal of someday wearing the Cream & Crimson uniform, regardless of how superficial that seems now. And though I fell embarrassingly short of that lofty goal, I never stopped loving IU. That’s why the thought that I could someday lose all interest in Indiana basketball—the most pervasive and influential aspect of my athletic life—seems so unfathomable. But yet, I have lost interest; I honestly don't care about it anymore. And looking back, it’s been that way for a couple of years now. And in the words of Wyatt Earp, that’s the damn misery of it all. For the sake of brevity, here's the point of this literary train wreck: seeing that clip from my IU-loving youth only reiterated my current state of indifference. That image of Martha appearing from the shadows of the hall—sweeping the floor and whistling those first few bars of the Indiana fight song—hit me like a Brian Sloan back-screen. Instantly, I was filled with visions of Winston Morgan and Stew Robinson and Big Ten titles. I immediately remembered Steve Alford wiping his hands on his socks before each free throw and Ricky Calloway’s gangly, awkward, knee-braced athleticism. I remembered our small television in our even smaller living room, and I remembered my dad constantly reminding me to watch what was going on away from the ball. But mostly, I remembered falling in love with the game of basketball, pure and simple. Throw in about 15,000 other Martha-induced memories hitting me all at once, and that explains the lump that was beginning to form in the back of my throat. In short, seeing that clip reminded me of what it was like to feel pride in Indiana basketball again, to feel pride in a team that plays basketball the right way. The Indiana University way (which is a far cry from the Portland Trailblazer/Teen Wolf way that is so disturbingly prevalent in Bloomington these days). And based on the sheer magnitude of similarly stated responses from you all, I can see that I’m not alone in that realization. Hence my newfound pessimism regarding the overall state of the Hoosier program. I'll leave you with this thought, and I'm curious as to whether you agree with it or not: Martha represents all that once was with the IU program, and therein lies her charm. She’s the Ghost of Hoosiers Past; she's a walking, whistling, floor-sweeping reminder of the Golden Years of Indiana basketball, the likes of which we may never see again. Kids growing up today, they won't have a Martha to call their own. Why would they? They'll look back on the 15-win Indiana basketball teams of their youth with the same feel-good nostalgia that I have whenever I look back on the15-win Indiana field-hockey teams of the mid-80s. That is, these kids won't be looking back on them at all. Consider this: unless things change drastically, IU basketball will become a completely forgetable and borderline-irrelevant aspect in the lives of an entire generation of kids growing up in Indiana. And in all seriousness, who would have ever guessed that? |
| The Ghost of Hoosiers Past |
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| February 8, 2005 |