tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-45145124579035911002008-03-24T16:12:00.000-04:002008-03-24T16:12:00.000-04:00As a fan of a lower-conference school (UMass) and premier professional sports teams (Red Sox/Patriots), I have to go with Villanova on this one. That moment of joy from a breakthrough (in this case, the Sweet 16, in UMass' case, beating Alabama in the NIT last year) is much much more rewarding their being the favorite and winning another title (third Pats Superbowl/second Sox WS).<BR/><BR/>You root for your middling team through the whole season. Experience the joys of big wins and the frustration of bad losses. You second guess your coach, rationalize why they'll be able to pull it together at some point and why they're not as bad as their record stands. And it's all 100 percent worth it for that one, season-defining win. Last year, we beat Alabama in a thriller in the NIT and that was the payoff. No one really cared that we didn't have a chance against WVU in the next round. We got our joy.Pedrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04211143362921977781noreply@blogger.com