I’d like to start out this piece by saying that I feel very fortunate, and you should too. There has never been a better time in this university’s history to be a sports fan.
Well, there might have been. I don’t want to have to look that up, and you don’t either. Just roll with me on this one.
The important thing to note is that Creighton doesn’t have the greatest of winning traditions. There have been a few great athletes to come through here, like Bob Gibson and Paul Silas, but there are other schools with more. Sure, we’ve made tournaments in our history, but other schools have made more.
While we’re on the subject, forget making tournaments, I want that gold.
Creighton needs to raise expectations and this year is a great time to start. We can’t settle for runner-up anymore because there is potential to do better. Let’s go over what we’re working with here.
The school’s breadwinner will always be the men’s basketball team, and I’m okay with that. As of right now Creighton is sitting 13th in the USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll and there is a hype surrounding this team that is very rare around these parts.
If the Jays are able to get through the Las Vegas unscathed, there is a good chance they can be ranked in the Top 10 nationally. Teams in the Top 10 aren’t talking Sweet 16, they’re talking banners.
The same thing goes for our men’s soccer team, currently ranked eighth in the country. They are currently riding a 10-match winning streak and are gearing up to start the NCAA tournament on Sunday.
This is a team that was able to reach the Final Four last year, and they have all of the potential to do it again. The jury’s still out on whether I will follow them back down to Birmingham this year, because seriously, Birmingham is awful.
Let’s not forget about the success the volleyball team is enjoying this season. The team is ranked for the first time in the history of the program, and I expect big things in the postseason.
I know what you’re thinking, “Why are you wasting so much time telling me things I already know?”
Well, smarty pants, I have a task for you as well.
If we are going to complete this transition into a national powerhouse with no sympathy for losers, you have to stop being losers. No more botching the national anthem on ESPN 2. No more showing up to basketball games in togas. No more soccer playoff games in empty stadiums.
We have to get loud and we have to get scary. No opponents are intimidated by the elderly people who show up to games because they’re on a staycation from West Omaha. Other teams need to be worried that the crowd won’t let them leave in one piece.
Blue crew needs to stop acting like a goofy dance troupe and start making throat-slashing gestures at opponents until we are fined by the NCAA. We’re at a point in the semester that Creighton will be favored in every home game from here on out. We need to convey the message to opponents that they have no chance in Omaha.
Creighton has to shake the small school persona and accept the fact that we are the bully now. We are the Cobra Kai. We are Billy Zapka in every movie he’s ever been in.
Creighton can use this era as a launching pad. We have all of the tools to turn into a perennial title contender. All we need is a little help from you and me.
Oh, and wins from the sports teams.