Butler Still Wins

By Bob Herman

It's the perfect story that just didn't technically quite happen, yet we all wanted to happen.

When Butler barely lost to Duke 61-59 Monday night in the NCAA championship game, and I mean barely, the first reaction was utter shock and disbelief. Butler had gotten this close, and it came down to a missed Gordon Hayward fade-away baseline jumper and the most dramatic half-court shot that couldn't go in.

For a team like Butler to make the national championship game is, well, not very common. It was the first time the Dawgs had ever sniffed this kind of territory, and to get that close and not seal the deal was devastating to say the least.

But this all needs to be put into perspective.

Heading into this year, Butler was ranked 11th in the nation, but no one really expected this team to make it to the national championship game. For god sakes, this well-oiled machine of a team made it to the school's first-ever Elite Eight, Final Four, and national championship game.

Anyone who is a fan of Butler--and even those who aren't--will always remember this college basketball season for what Butler did. The Dawgs took on the biggest of the bigs and beat nearly all of them. Yes, this is the ultimate goal for any team, but it's the way Butler almost did it that gives hope to every other small school out there (I apologize for the indirect "Hoosiers" reference, but it's true...).

Now the big news is whether Brad Stevens will take this, that, or the other thing and if Gordon should stay or go now. But those are side items to a season that I and every other Butler fan will never, never, forget.

To the entire 2009-10 Butler Bulldogs basketball team, we can't thank you enough for what you've given us and the basketball world in an age that is rampant with recruiting malfeasance and teams run by the almighty dollar. You gave everyone a team to cheer for, and you played the right way, The Butler Way.

Sure, Duke won according to the record books, and I can't stop thinking about the "what ifs" from that game, but Butler is still the true winner of this year's college basketball season. Butler took the sport back to its roots and captured the hearts of millions along the way.

And as Ron Nored was quoted, "This isn't the end of our story. It's only the beginning."