SU: On the Path to Victory

It will be a long and tough road for the Seattle University men’s basketball team. After a near four decade hiatus, the team will be entering an athletic arena featuring some of the biggest teams in the country. The taste of loss is something to be expected, but already the universities move to Division I athletics has been prosperous and sweet for the team. Isocrates notes that the journey itself is tough and often bitter in atmosphere, but the end result of anything worth doing is momentous and uniquely positive.

The same can be said about the larger university population—who at times has not been so positive about the transition from Division II to Division I athletics. The general fear—no wins, and a loss of academics.

Well, the men’s basketball team seems to be shouting a resounding “I told you so!” with a 13-6 season this year, making it one of the best in recent year. But the wins are generally silent, as the team is in a period of transition and has gone largely unnoticed.

But the mood is changing. As Steve Kelley says it in a recent times article, “When you walk out of the gym after basketball practice this week, the sun still is shining. The air is warmer. There are birds in the trees again and students are wearing shorts and T-shirts.”

The article was written in the dead of winter. However, the possibility is there and the team knows it. They can see the fruits of their hard labor in the distance. The next step: beating the University of Washington, a top pac-10 school. When in years past the thought of playing the Huskies was a drag, indifference has been replaced with excitement and hope.