I've Met The Enemy - And He Is Me

1987 was a pivitol year for me.

It was one of the first years that I really got into March Madness. Sure, I had watched previous tournaments with my dad and my brother, but I would only follow the few teams that I knew.

I guess it was still CBS back then, but it was definetely pre-cable. Anyway, the network would choose a couple of games and re-air them after the 10:30 news. So if you wanted to stay up late and watch the late night games, you couldn't watch the last ten minutes of the news or else all suspense would be lost.

I got no sleep that month - but it was worth it.

Anyway, I really started to like Syracuse. They were new and exciting and fun to watch. Plus, nobody in my junior high had ever heard of them. They were my little secret - my cool corner. And they made it to the final game. I was so proud that I had been rooting for them for several weeks.

Well, they lost to Indiana on a last second jumper. I cried. After that, I hated Indiana. I hated Bob Knight. I hated Steve Alford and Keith Smart and anybody from that program.

I continued to hate Indiana and Bob Knight until I got to high school. As far as my coach was concerned, Bobby Knight invented basketball. We would actually watch Indiana games to learn how to make cuts and passes, rebound, and set picks. My last year, we ran an offense Coach Knight devised in the late 60's and still used with his college teams.

Anyway, I learned that Coach Knight is one of the best collegiate coaches in history. I learned that his 1987 team won not necessarily out of luck, but because they wanted it more. Or maybe they knew all too well the emotional and physical workout that would have ensued had they lost that game.

I bring all of this up because I've been watching Knight School, the ESPN series that follows Coach Knight and the Texas Tech program as they pick one kid out of 16 to be on the basketball team.

They are at the point that it's time for the kids to get used to the verbal abuse Coach Knight is known for. Of course, the shows are heavily censored, but it's still obvious that Coach often shares some of his more colorful colloquialisms in a way the cameras may not show.

In the last episode aired, there was a segment that sought to show the softer side of Coach Knight. Just to contrast the gruff and profane on-court personality, they showed him playing baseball and fishing with his grandchild.

Coach Knight was tossing plastic baseballs to his granchild; one pitch, the kid took him deep. Of course, you knew what was coming next - a pitch inside - followed by an explanation that a batter should always expect in the ear after a homerun. It's a lesson that can never be taught too early.

It really made me laugh a good belly laugh - only because the last time I played baseball with my nephews (ages 3 and 6) and they took me deep, guess what pitch came next?

Watch out for in the ear.