slu72 Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 From a '72 grad who really became a Billiken fan watching them in the '59 NIT lose to Providence. I didn't know a Billiken from a termite. I didn't even know where St. Louis was on the map, until the Red Sox played the Cards in 1967. After two years in the US Navy Reserve and applying to colleges, my XO suggested ST. Louis U. So I applied. I was accepted on a probational status. Which meant make it the first semester or you're gone. So, moved to the midwest always thinking hey, these guys got a good BB team they must be a good school. So, I studied hard. And made it thru that first semester. Went to every game though at the old arena w/ a bunch of friends. Although we were pretty much lost in those 18,000 seats when the largest crowd was about 4,000, unless it was Marquette or ND. Then we went back to the Kiel. Which was not much different in terms of crowd size although it felt a little more comfy because it was a lot smaller than the arena. I was loving the whole St. Louis U experience though. Good profs. Good friends. Great food at some of the local restaurants. Lo and behold we had a good team in '70 and '71. Jimmy Irving, Harry Rogers, The Ghost Leonard. Just not good enough to make the NCAAs, as we lost to Louisville at Bradley in a playoff. Didn't even make the NIT. After graduation moved back to the NEast and followed the Bills from the papers, ie MId West scores in the papers. It was horrible. We couldn't beat anyone. Until the late 80s and we hired a HS coach. I thought, oh s&^t this is the end of Billiken hoops. But he got us to two NIT's which were on TV. A very rare experience for a Billiken living outside the St. Louis area. Then of course came Spoonball. The Saviour. Next thing you know we're winning. Getting on the cover of SI. Travelled to UC to watch them in the tourney. Went to see them play in the NCAAs. But alas it wasn't meant to last. Spoon left. Oh, we got a break in 2000 when Zo led them to the NCAA in Cleveland, where ironically they lost to RM's Utah squad on a last shot miracle 3. But then we're right back where we started, irrelevant. The next 7 years or so were killers. Yet as a Bills fan always hoping for the best. Found this board in 1999 and could finally keep up with Billiken nation which got no national publicity. All of us who have been on here for just about ever always wondering when do we get to the promised land. And most of us thinking, never. It's hard being a Bills fan. I know if I lived in St. Louis all those years I would have been w/ Broy, Billikan, the shoes, etc suffering thru all those years. Those guys deserve our respect and praise. They witnessed all the heartbreaks first hand. Waiting... waiting... waiting for something to go right. Suddenly, we get a new arena and a devoted big time booster, Dr. C. And a big time coach. Well, here we go, finally. But not without some hiccups. So, we suffer those as well. Hey, no one ever said it was easy being a Billiken fan. You have to have heart and hope for the best. Last year looked like a breakthrough. The atmosphere in Columbus was electric. We'd arrived. After beating Memphis we'd arrived. And despite the loss to the no 1 seed MSU we held our own. Next year would be the realization of a dream. We'd probably make the sweet 16. Well, as stated earlier, it's not easy being a Billiken fan. Our HOF coach is severely ill. He's on a leave of absence. Then in November, he's too sick to ever coach again. We lose an all conference player to injury for 13 games. Jeez, c'mon, God, we're a Jesuit University. Why us? Then December 1st comes. Dark day from hell. RM passes. BB doesn't seem so important anymore. A really good man has died. So, it's one more season down the drain, but who really cares in light of the death of a great teacher, a great person, who had given us so much hope just a mere 6 months ago. Well, thank God, these young men did. They went on a mission for all of us long suffering Billiken fans. They play like angels. They play BB the way it's supposed to be played. They play for them... the team. They play for RM. They play for an interim coach. They play for a school that needs to be played for and all those connected to it. Thank you, 2012-13 Billikens. You will always be remembered no matter what you do from here on out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Metzinger Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Beautiful. God bless you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomble Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 As a Cleveland fan, seasons like this give me hope for my other teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 One quibble: Grawer was hired in the early '80s and he had been an assistant at Missouri immediately prior. He'd been a coach at the high-school level prior to being hired as an assistant at Mizzou (because of Stipanovich). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 One quibble: Grawer was hired in the early '80s and he had been an assistant at Missouri immediately prior. He'd been a coach at the high-school level prior to being hired as an assistant at Mizzou (because of Stipanovich). Sorry, AF, wasn't sure when RG was hired and never knew he was AC at Mizzery. The late 70s and early 80s for us Billiken fans living outside ST Louis were a blur. As stated, most I ever got were scores in the paper, never a write up, just a score. And most of those were not going our way. Although, I do remember the old MCC where I had a guy from X working for me who always stuck it to me that X had beaten us again. My whole point was we really haven't had a chance to really be proud of this program, save for Spoon's years, until the last 2 years. And this year's team appears to be really special. I think you'd agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Sorry, AF, wasn't sure when RG was hired and never knew he was AC at Mizzery. The late 70s and early 80s for us Billiken fans living outside ST Louis were a blur. As stated, most I ever got were scores in the paper, never a write up, just a score. And most of those were not going our way. Although, I do remember the old MCC where I had a guy from X working for me who always stuck it to me that X had beaten us again. My whole point was we really haven't had a chance to really be proud of this program, save for Spoon's years, until the last 2 years. And this year's team appears to be really special. I think you'd agree. A team of destiny? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 A team of destiny? YES, Let's Go Bills!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenbill Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Well said slu72. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliKat Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I love it. and all our players too. Such good guys. I had mentioned I befriended CE to see if I could figure out when they were getting back in tonight (danm never figured that out) ..it was funny how many times we went back and forth saying "thank you for all the support", "No, thank YOU for all the effort and hard work" I got a kick out of how well rounded, polite, and awesome all of the guys are and that was even more evidence of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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