The unfortunate reality of the intersection of athletics and disease ultimately crossed paths. As it did, I remembered some words I had written previously: “My fear was not entirely unfounded and I decided that this dream state, despite its haunting reality, must have been just a dream. I approached many social situations with trepidation. Not knowing about my past made me wary of anyone who was too friendly too soon.”
Would this all prove to be some terrifying dream? We sometimes get insulated from reality in the cocoon of sports, and sometimes the comfort of such insulation provides the perfect escape from those things about living that tend to generate trepidation.
None of us can really say whether the decision to cancel the rest of spring sports was the correct or incorrect decision; time will be the final judge in this case. If halting the competitions ultimately flattened the spread of a potentially deadly virus, then the greater good was served. If the reaction was too extreme, then history will likely be a harsh judge.
What I think we all do know is that there are some people far more disappointed than a fan could ever be. Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, Minyon Moore and Satou Sabally have all played their last game as Oregon Ducks. They leave as champions of the regular season and Pac-12 tournament; and yet there will be this gnawing feeling in the pit of their stomach for the rest of their lives. Sabrina’s unfinished business will seemingly remain just that; unfinished.
But as Sabrina said herself following the regular season home finale, the unfinished business had nothing to do with winning basketball games.
“At the time, I whole-heartedly thought that meant winning a national championship. Never would I imagine what the unfinished business actually was,” Ionescu began. “It had nothing to do with achievement. It was a transformation that taught me a blueprint to life.”
Maybe she had that right all along; in life, we will always face unexpected obstacles, there will be disappointment over which we have little or no control. Despite those pitfalls and setbacks, we must continue to trudge forward.
Athletics will now take a backseat; they will return. In time, the mighty pit felt at the loss of potential greatness will be filled by life’s many rich rewards. There will be special moments to come; there will be wins and there will be losses.
Later in her speech, Ionescu went on to describe a term that meant a great deal to her. “The word is everglow, It means ‘a feeling of peace or love that’s given by some thing or someone, despite what a person has been through.' This feeling continues to remain in their heart no matter what.”
Is it fair that this women’s team, with perhaps the best player in the history of women’s college basketball, does not get one final shot at winning the national champoionship? Probably not. But I hope Ionescu and her teammates take her word everglow and apply it to their magical season. The team has become more than loved – they have become beloved; not just among Oregon fans but across the nation. The 2019 season saw this team win 31 games, averaging 28.1 points per game more than their opponents; they beat Stanford by more than 30 points – twice; they beat the UConn women on the road in convincing fashion and they beat the USA Women’s basketball team.
That is quite the list of achievements. Still, there was more; three seniors embarked on a journey that would come with great joy and even deeper sorrows; their junior compatriot went along for the ride and their journey was a treasure to behold for so many. The most difficult thing for many athletes is what drives them to be successful is what will end up haunting them when their careers are finished. We seem to remember with more intensity the bitterness of defeats more so than the sweetness of victories.
I remember the 1980 Olympic Trials very vividly. My freshman PE teacher was Nancy McChesney; her husband Bill McChesney qualified for the Olympics and would never get to represent the nation due to the boycott. Nancy only talked briefly about Bill’s disappointment because, at the time, the 1984 Olympics were close and he had an opportunity to earn that spot. But he never did.
Despite the Congressional Gold medal McChesney would later receive, there was always that raw feeling of something lost. I would later be coached by his older brother Steve and close friends with his younger brother Kenny. Over time, the pains of what was never known became a sort of hollow spot in the back of the mind; when we gathered together many years later with the McChesney family, the talk had become about all the good; the family legacy, the wins, the records, the love and the incredible bond the entire family had created not with just each other, but with a community.
I don’t see them much anymore, but I know that the pain of that lost moment in time has faded and the joys of success will always survive. I hope the Oregon women’s basketball team will someday have that same feeling; that the pain of a lost opportunity will be overwhelmed by all that was achieved. I hope they will find comfort in the everglow of a fanbase that fully embraced their journey.
