Gonzaga's Season Comes to a Crying Halt

Last night Gonzaga lost a game they had won. They were up by 17 in the second half and UCLA was playing dreadfully. But the oft-fickle tournament winds shifted. Gonzaga scored only nine field goals in the second half and UCLA scored the last 11 points of the game. The Zags ended up on a plane back to Spokane and the Bruins moved on to the Elite Eight.

Seattlest could not have been more thrilled. We don't like Adam Morrison, we don't like that Gonzaga gets all the calls in the WCC, we just don't like the smirky arrogant Zags. Watching them self-destruct during the final two minutes in ways, that quite frankly, seemed made up, was amazing.

We were watching the game with a friend who could care less about sports. But like anyone watching Gonzaga play, his eyes immediately went to the scruffy-haired, creepy-mustachioed Morrison. Our guest immediately asked a wonderfully offensive question about him, and then proceeded to call him "Auto Shop" for the rest of the game.

This made us laugh, but not as much as Morrison's reaction during the furious final seconds. Having gone ice cold during UCLA's come back, he jogged over to the basket after the Bruins, who were down one, stole the ball with about five seconds left. Gonzaga fans had gathered at the bar down the street, and we could almost hear them screaming, "Morrison, do something. Stop them, throw yourself at the ball. For God's sake man, play some actual defense for the first time in your life!"

What came next, we have never seen. We have witnessed athletes cry and thought nothing less of them. They are, after all, only human and losing something so important can be quite emotional. However, when an athlete who we deplore because of his trash talking, dirty play and non-stop whining to officials and TV cameras starts to cry during the game, it can't help but put a little skip in your step.

After the game Morrison fell to floor, pulled his jersey over his face and let loose. At that moment somewhere deep inside ourselves, knowing that the image of him crying when his team still had a chance to win would follow him for the rest of his career, we felt, maybe for a second, a little bad for the little guy. But we swear it was for like just a second.