I’ve been a Xavier Musketeer fanatic for over sixty years, seeing my first game when I was just four years old. I was a season ticket holder for probably twenty-five years, but had to stop going some fifteen years ago since I have lots of trouble walking any distance. So it would be easy for me to blame Cincinnati for starting the disgraceful fight. But I can’t and won’t.
Since I don’t have cable, I now have to listen to the games, which I never miss. I doubt if that I had watched the game on TV, I would have been able to figure out how it started. These sorts of things usually build up over time, so there may be no way of knowing exactly who to point the finger of blame toward. But there is a long history or bad blood, so this isn’t quite the shock to me as it surely is to casual onlookers. Back when Bob Huggins and Pete Gillen were the team’s coaches, it got so bad that they refused to shake one another’s hands after games. And one year, Pete Gillen had to be restrained when he doubled up his fist and went after Huggins.
The real shame is it’s probably impossible to determine who did start the fight, and which side was simply protecting its teammates. Which means that players from both teams are going to be punished, which is only right and proper. Just how this might impact Xavier, which seems set to have their best season ever. It would be a shame if this causes them to not have the season everyone expects from them, a season that some have predicted could take them to the Final Four for the first time ever.
Yes, as an XU fan, I hate the UC Bearcats, one game a year. Other than that I root for UC, unless they’re playing one of my favorite teams. Sometimes I wonder if the UC fans may not hate XU year round, since for years, UC was the only game in town. It’s only been the late twenty years or so that Xavier has built itself into a top-notch program. It came at the same time UC’s program began to slip. I only hope that the Crosstown Shootout continues, because it is truly one of the best rivalries in college basketball. I will say that no one was right in this, both sides were as wrong as wrong can be,
Xavier University President Michael. J. Graham, S.J. released this statement in response to the incident at the end of this afternoon's Xavier vs. Cincinnati men's basketball game:
"Xavier University takes very seriously the unsportsmanlike events which occurred at the close of today's Crosstown Shootout. This behavior was not representative of Xavier's standards and has no place in intercollegiate athletics. Our basketball program is expected to, and has for so many years now, represented the highest ideals of sportsmanship and ethical conduct. We are reviewing the incident in its entirety and, in conjunction with the Atlantic 10 Conference, will take appropriate action. We regret that this incident happened and apologize to our loyal fans, the Xavier family and the entire Cincinnati community."
Since I don’t have cable, I now have to listen to the games, which I never miss. I doubt if that I had watched the game on TV, I would have been able to figure out how it started. These sorts of things usually build up over time, so there may be no way of knowing exactly who to point the finger of blame toward. But there is a long history or bad blood, so this isn’t quite the shock to me as it surely is to casual onlookers. Back when Bob Huggins and Pete Gillen were the team’s coaches, it got so bad that they refused to shake one another’s hands after games. And one year, Pete Gillen had to be restrained when he doubled up his fist and went after Huggins.
The real shame is it’s probably impossible to determine who did start the fight, and which side was simply protecting its teammates. Which means that players from both teams are going to be punished, which is only right and proper. Just how this might impact Xavier, which seems set to have their best season ever. It would be a shame if this causes them to not have the season everyone expects from them, a season that some have predicted could take them to the Final Four for the first time ever.
Yes, as an XU fan, I hate the UC Bearcats, one game a year. Other than that I root for UC, unless they’re playing one of my favorite teams. Sometimes I wonder if the UC fans may not hate XU year round, since for years, UC was the only game in town. It’s only been the late twenty years or so that Xavier has built itself into a top-notch program. It came at the same time UC’s program began to slip. I only hope that the Crosstown Shootout continues, because it is truly one of the best rivalries in college basketball. I will say that no one was right in this, both sides were as wrong as wrong can be,
Xavier University President Michael. J. Graham, S.J. released this statement in response to the incident at the end of this afternoon's Xavier vs. Cincinnati men's basketball game:
"Xavier University takes very seriously the unsportsmanlike events which occurred at the close of today's Crosstown Shootout. This behavior was not representative of Xavier's standards and has no place in intercollegiate athletics. Our basketball program is expected to, and has for so many years now, represented the highest ideals of sportsmanship and ethical conduct. We are reviewing the incident in its entirety and, in conjunction with the Atlantic 10 Conference, will take appropriate action. We regret that this incident happened and apologize to our loyal fans, the Xavier family and the entire Cincinnati community."
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