At the two-month mark of the Trump presidency, it seems impossible to find an inch of common ground between the Trumpists and the Trump-is-Hitler crowd. But there is actually one thing they can agree on: the first sixty days of this new administration were just as exhausting as the seemingly endless election campaign. Way too much attention, gray matter, and emotion required. Blink and you miss the next “revelation.”
So, what can take us away from all this? Where can we seek shelter from the storm? And what can serve as a pleasant diversion from all the really serious stuff – Comey testifying, Neil Gorsuch running the gauntlet, healthcare reform – that we’ll be witnessing in Washington this week?
Why, March Madness. Of course.
Yes, indeed, the annual 68-team mash-up gives us a respite. A time to lay back and just enjoy the incredible athletic talents of youngsters from coast to coast. A time to gather ourselves and re-group.
Or perhaps not, at least for the tortured souls who live and die by the results of these contests as if their lives depended on it. And for many, they do. But it’s not always limited to the players, coaches, and fans.
After a narrow defeat at the hands of powerhouse Kentucky on Sunday, Lynn Marshall, wife of the coach of the Wichita State Shockers, Gregg Marshall, absolutely freaked out about a call (actually the non-call of a foul) she evidently believed cost her husband’s team the game.
Lynn Marshall was asked to leave the Bankers Life Fieldhouse court area about 10 minutes after the final horn for cursing and shouting, according to a report from the Associated Press. She was reportedly followed away from the court by a police officer, then was taken back to a postgame news conference.
Marshall sat in on her husband’s news conference, and at one point said, “He got fouled,” as Gregg Marshall and Landry Shamet were discussing the final play of the game.
Now, I know what it’s like to suffer emotional trial over sports, and that’s just as a fan. As a young boy, my father had to issue a one-game suspension from our New York Jets season tickets because of my over-the-top behavior – at an exhibition game, for crying out loud.
I can think of times (more than I care to recount here) when my wife might have wanted me physically removed from the premises for acting psychotically after a particularly stinging defeat for my beloved New York Mets, but I could never envision a scenario where she would have to be removed by me, not to mention with a police escort.
Having spent nine years as a play-by-play broadcaster of college basketball for Syracuse University and Holy Cross College, there were many instances where I would shake my head at the rabid behavior of fans, and occasionally players and coaches. But the coach’s wife?
Perhaps this is in some way good. I mean, if women are capable of melting down over sports every bit as much as men, well, it just makes the case for gender equality, now doesn’t it.
