We should not have lost last night.
The Albany Patroons lost on a last-second field goal, 95-93, to the St. Louis Griffins. The Griffins now move to the TBL Championship, while the Patroons – the 2023 season is finished.
Ugh. Let me repeat that. Ugh.
Look, I can pinpoint every single chance we could have moved ahead. I could blame every bad call the refs made. I could also gripe about every missed free throw at the line.
But in the end … it was just a battle in a best-of-three series, and once again another team gets to celebrate on OUR home court. Yeah. I don’t need to see the St. Louis Griffins doing the “gritty” dance on our floor. But in the end, it’s all scoreboard. That’s it.
I suppose I can chalk this up to every other time Albany lost the big game – like last year against Shreveport. Or in 2009 against Lawton-Fort Sill. Or in 2007 against Yakima. Ugh.
That championship run should have been ours. But in the end … it wasn’t.
So if anybody sees me today … or tomorrow … and I’m not my usual smiley self …
Yeah. Feel free to understand. This blows chunks.
It’s like a Red Sox fan wincing at the mention of Bucky Dent. Or a Yankees fan grumbling about a bloody sock. Or a Steelers fan cursing the existence of Tim Fucking Tebow. Yeah, that still sticks in my craw.
Yeah … I’ll be fine. I have to be fine. It’s only a game. Only a basketball game.
Well, in the end, at least we can say that when our Albany sports team ends … it’s because we lost in the big game.
That’s leaps and bounds over what happened to the Albany Empire, I guess.
We’ll see what happens next year.
And I want St. Louis on the schedule.
Unfinished business and all.
Chuck The Writer 
There was a piece in the T-U the other day that told how the Griffins’ coach is also an owner and mayor of a small St. Louis suburb. Talk about playing for civic pride!!
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