Proud Butler grad reflects on Bulldogs' Road to the Final Four
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By SCOTT ABRAHAM
Butler University Alum 1994
INDIANAPOLIS -- Sixteen years ago, covering the Butler Bulldogs as the sports editor for The Collegian seemed like an honor and a privilege.
Just walking into Hinkle Fieldhouse, built in 1928 and now a U.S. National Historic Landmark, was more than satisfying.
But on this day in 1994, the Bulldogs were taking on the No. 1 ranked and Bobby Knight-led Indiana Hoosiers.
A guaranteed mismatch on paper and a home-court advantage for the Red and White. Right?
Wrong.
Butler pulled off the monumental upset that day.
As a journalist, there are specific rules and ethics you are supposed to follow if you pull up a seat on press row – and I broke them all once the buzzer sounded.
After waiting a minute for some of my peers to leave and head toward the press room, I, like a true homer, stormed the court with everyone else.
My rationale: “I’m a senior. This is never going to happen again. And, ‘Oh my God! We just beat the No.1 Hoosiers.’ ”
Lucky for me, none of my future employers, including your Highland County Press publisher/editor Rory Ryan, witnessed this.
And even luckier for me and fellow Butler University alumni, the second part of my rationale was 100 percent wrong.
Butler University – that’s right – little B.U. – is playing for the 2010 Division I National Championship.
It’s not a dream. But it sure feels like it.
The initial sight of 70,000-plus fans at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Butler fight song blaring and the unbridled rush of seeing your school’s team take the floor, is something that I could not and probably will not ever be able to put into perspective.
The smallest Division I school in 40 years is competing for a national championship in its own backyard. A school so small it can’t, on a good day, sell out its own arena. Coached by a 33-year-old ex-Eli Lilly marketing rep. Five years younger than me.
And just when you thought the story could not get any better, how about a team finding a way to beat Michigan State, 52-50, without scoring a basket for more than 10 minutes.
When Butler forward Gordon Hayward rebounded Korie Lucious’ missed free-throw, fans of the “little school that could” went completely berserk. My former unemotional roommate, who had traveled from Chicago, had tears streaming down his face.
It may always seem surreal for me. Not many events have left me so wide-eyed and at a loss for words.
But all that really matters is the Butler Bulldogs are not fazed by college basketball’s biggest stage. They are simply living out their motto, which was adopted by the team this year:
The Butler Way – demands commitment, denies selfishness, accepts reality yet seeks improvement every day while putting the team above self.
Win or lose tonight, The Butler Way works.
And I’ve never been so proud.
Scott Abraham, now living in Lexington, Ky., is a former sports editor in Highland County. He thanks Highland County readers for making him "feel right at home while covering high school student-athletes in the mid-1990s. I miss you all."
By SCOTT ABRAHAM
Butler University Alum 1994
INDIANAPOLIS -- Sixteen years ago, covering the Butler Bulldogs as the sports editor for The Collegian seemed like an honor and a privilege.
Just walking into Hinkle Fieldhouse, built in 1928 and now a U.S. National Historic Landmark, was more than satisfying.
But on this day in 1994, the Bulldogs were taking on the No. 1 ranked and Bobby Knight-led Indiana Hoosiers.
A guaranteed mismatch on paper and a home-court advantage for the Red and White. Right?
Wrong.
Butler pulled off the monumental upset that day.
As a journalist, there are specific rules and ethics you are supposed to follow if you pull up a seat on press row – and I broke them all once the buzzer sounded.
After waiting a minute for some of my peers to leave and head toward the press room, I, like a true homer, stormed the court with everyone else.
My rationale: “I’m a senior. This is never going to happen again. And, ‘Oh my God! We just beat the No.1 Hoosiers.’ ”
Lucky for me, none of my future employers, including your Highland County Press publisher/editor Rory Ryan, witnessed this.
And even luckier for me and fellow Butler University alumni, the second part of my rationale was 100 percent wrong.
Butler University – that’s right – little B.U. – is playing for the 2010 Division I National Championship.
It’s not a dream. But it sure feels like it.
The initial sight of 70,000-plus fans at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Butler fight song blaring and the unbridled rush of seeing your school’s team take the floor, is something that I could not and probably will not ever be able to put into perspective.
The smallest Division I school in 40 years is competing for a national championship in its own backyard. A school so small it can’t, on a good day, sell out its own arena. Coached by a 33-year-old ex-Eli Lilly marketing rep. Five years younger than me.
And just when you thought the story could not get any better, how about a team finding a way to beat Michigan State, 52-50, without scoring a basket for more than 10 minutes.
When Butler forward Gordon Hayward rebounded Korie Lucious’ missed free-throw, fans of the “little school that could” went completely berserk. My former unemotional roommate, who had traveled from Chicago, had tears streaming down his face.
It may always seem surreal for me. Not many events have left me so wide-eyed and at a loss for words.
But all that really matters is the Butler Bulldogs are not fazed by college basketball’s biggest stage. They are simply living out their motto, which was adopted by the team this year:
The Butler Way – demands commitment, denies selfishness, accepts reality yet seeks improvement every day while putting the team above self.
Win or lose tonight, The Butler Way works.
And I’ve never been so proud.
Scott Abraham, now living in Lexington, Ky., is a former sports editor in Highland County. He thanks Highland County readers for making him "feel right at home while covering high school student-athletes in the mid-1990s. I miss you all."