A Big One For the Team
Featured in the Dayton Daily News
Can we be any more disappointed? All of a sudden, because of an unwelcome virus, we find ourselves in the middle of uncertainty. Now, we are counseled about where to go, how many to be with, and how often to wash our hands. It all feels a bit unnerving. Among our heartbreak is the reconciliation that there will be no NCAA basketball. Exuberance for the University of Dayton Men’s Basketball potential in the NCAA tournament is now flattened. Arguably, this was the best chance perhaps in the history of UD men’s basketball for tournament success. We can celebrate the fact the UD Women’s team won the A-10 tournament, but even for them the quest to play in the greater NCAA tournament is squelched.
The loss of NCAA basketball is a grand byproduct of the coronavirus unknown, but there are a multitude of other disruptions and cancellations that hit close to the heart. This is a tough time. Long anticipated concerts are being rescheduled. Schools are cancelled for weeks as teachers are challenged with finding alternative ways to reach the minds of their students. Year-long wedding plans are threatened. Perhaps most concerning is the worry of those on the health care front line charged with being the first responders to a virus with so much unknown. Finding ourselves in the midst of vast mystery is, to say the least, unsettling. I know people who have been planning celebrations for months who now find themselves having to cancel. This is unprecedented. My guess is that it will get a bit worse before it gets better. So, how do we get through it all?
I say we look to others who have paved the way in the abyss of adversity. There’s no doubt that coronavirus is an unmatched challenge. But in the scope of human experience, we’ve persevered before. Soldiers in the Revolutionary War crossed the Delaware River in the middle of the night on Christmas Day, many without coats and shoes. Think about that. Imagining the ache of frostbite feet being shelved by determination. Something greater than their discomfort propelled them. I think about cancer patients who wage an intensely personal quest to persevere through the debilitating byproduct of chemotherapy. Despite feeling alone while sitting in their reclining chemo chair, something beyond themselves propels them. And many of us can never forget the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. Hope was hard to find that day, as we were blinded by clouds of ashes, shock and terror.
Here’s what I know for sure. The next few weeks or even months will stretch us. There might be moments when we wonder if ordinary time will ever return. We all love to be connected to something greater, so I’ll invoke the leadership of Anthony Grant, head coach of the University of Dayton Men’s Basketball team. For those heartbroken Dayton players and fans, UD basketball is pretty important, and so is the reassurance of a good coach.
Coach Grant made a statement reflecting the team and community’s disappointment. He said, “We sit here disappointed that the season has ended in such an abrupt fashion. But without a doubt, the best thing for the safety and well-being of our players and staff and all of our supporters and families, we feel like the right decision was made.” He articulated disappointment, understanding and eventual acceptance. A message of grace from a coach who probably couldn’t sleep due to unmeasured excitement at the prospect of tournament play for his team.
During this chaotic time, we need to keep our eye on the greater good and take one for the team as Coach Grant articulated. As trying as all this is, we will get through it. In the meantime, looking out for each other with distance and consideration will make us all only closer.