Apr 22 2010
Rapid City squashes Mudbugs hopes
It is a tough pill to swallow to be so close, to come so far while overcoming so much. But when you go further than you yourself ever imagined, with the strength and wisdom you never thought you had, is that taste so bad you lose the ability to see the truth?
The truth is that every player on the Mudbugs team lost game seven and the series with it knowing full well that one team was going to advance and one team was going home.
The Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs may have been defeated 7-3 in the 7th game of the Northern Conference Finals to the advancing Rapid City Rush. And yes, the privilege to represent their Conference in the Finals along with it. But are they losers, just for losing? I think not. I despise the crude adage “there is no 2nd place” or “there is #1 and everybody else is a loser”.
Why do I despise that? Because it belittles the human sacrifice it takes put forth by everyone involved. For every victor, there must be an opponent. One will win and one will lose that we all know. It’s the cold, hard question every player is asking himself, “If I had just played better, if I had just been there”.
Make peace and come to the realization that you gave your opponent a gallant fight to the finish. But you drew the short stick. After that, there is only one thing left to do, that terrific hockey playoff tradition of looking your combatants in the eye and saying “Congratulations”. That is still to this day the classiest way leave the battlefield in sports today. It’s a tradition I admired as a young kid, and always will.
Only thing left here is “how long will it take to accept the fact that all they had to give was all they had to give” and no more. Would losing the series be any less painful to the team or to its fans if they had lost the game 4-3? Instead of the 7-3 in a game that slipped from their control very early? Leaving an insurmountable hill to climb was too high to realistically reach.
I am sad the team didn’t get to reach their goal. But at the same time, I am proud of our team the way they fought in their attempt. Just remember, no matter how far in your destination you may go, don’t ever forget to turn around and appreciate the ride that got you there.
I hope this makes those reading this enjoy a whole new perception on what has saddened them. Because I know it has helped me to write it. For it is how we perceive things that makes us happy or makes us sad. I look forward to a much more stable offseason, as well as an all new Mudbugs season of ups and downs that go along with it.
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Well Said! We Aren’t Losers At All, In My Opinion. I Kept Telling Myself This Was The Year For The Bugs. Then It Happened…We Lost Both Our Goaltenders And Had To Bring In Two New Goaltenders. I’m Very Proud Of Buskirk And Every Mudbugs’ Effort In The Playoffs. I’m Looking Forward To A New Season In October!
Great article!!!! The thing that I appreciated the most was that everytime they were dealt a blow, they fought back. I think that heart and hustle was a good name for this bunch. Hope that we get most of them back. I, too, am looking forward to next year.