You sign up for a class that you know is going to be hard. Perhaps it’s the spring of your senior year. “Give me a B and get me out of here,” you say.
The first test rolls around. You’re prepared, but don’t know what to expect. “The tests are tough”, says the guy who’s been in the class before. Your goal is still a B.
It’s a long exam. You stay 5 minutes after, never taking a break, and leave not really sure of what just happened.
Monday: professor hands back your test: ‘A’.
Relief. Ecstasy.
Next test comes up, and this time, your expectations are higher. “I made an A. I can do it again.” And maybe you can.
You study, prepare the same amount as before, same wake-up time and breakfast. Nothing about you has changed.
But the course–it hasn’t changed either; neither has the professor; neither have his tests.
The only thing that has really changed are your expectations. “How are you feeling about the test?” your roommate asks. “Well, I got an ‘A’ on the last one…”
So when you find out you made a ‘B-’, you head into the weekend dejected. But should you?
The Grizzlies lost to the Spurs Wednesday night, as many believed that they would. As Soul 103.5 said, Memphis “played well enough to be in it, but not well enough to win it”. And that is about right.
They did some good things (rebounded, scrapped, fought to the end), and they did some bad–even stupid–things (see Tony Allen’s inbounds passes and Hollins’s decision to go five minutes without a point guard). Perhaps most importantly, they shot less than 40 percent, and never had any rhythm down low.
The Spurs? Well, they were just the Spurs–the professor, the test, and the format didn’t get any easier. San Antonio has only lost 5 home games all year. Gregg Poppovich is a Hall of Famer. When on the floor, Ginobli brings +16 net points to San Antonio.
To put is simply, the Law of Averages prevailed. The series stands 1-1.
My first reaction is disappointment. “We are just as good as this team”, just as you were good enough to make an ‘A’ on the first test. And maybe you were good enough–in theory–to make an ‘A’ on the second. But you just didn’t.
I said before the series that all I want is a Game 6 in Memphis–for the Grizzlies to win two of the first five and have a chance to force a Game 7 in San Antonio. Anything can happen in a Game 7.
And anything can still happen for these Grizzlies.
FedExForum will be electric Saturday night. The First Tennessee building downtown is already electric.
You’re at Spring Break with a ‘B+’ average. It’s all you could’ve asked for when you registered.
Wake up in the morning and grind. Believe in Memphis. Live the Grizz Life and love it.
Grizz-beck
Jordan, that was a great analogy about the basketball game, comparing it to a tough course. I really could use that one with my guys.
I love the Grizzlies more than Terry Tippett loves Freedom Hall (or whatever your gym is called).
Go Grizzlies!