ICYMI Wednesday Roundup 2.27.13: Storming the Court in Minneapolis

I am a fan of storming the court. I mean, kids are kids and the whole idea of, "Act like you've been there before," is lost on me because a) I haven't been there before, so there's that, and b) come on, THESE ARE KIDS! As Indiana missed that last attempt from the corner, after what was arguably the longest minute of basketball ever, I was waiting to see how the kids in Minneapolis would storm the raised court. Here is a YouTube video of the event. Pretty awesome:

I don't know if it's the delay in getting up to the court or the actual celebration or the fact that it looks really awkward because of the lack of immediacy, but this is one of my more favorite court-storming incidents this year.

Of course, this prompted a few thoughts in my head. What are other avenues in which we could, "Storm the court"? There have got to be some interesting avenues that gives us this wonderful adrenaline rush in which we randomly convene with arms raised high, screaming like the drunken and crazy idiots we once were. Obviously professional sports are a no-no, but could we do this with baseball? Soccer? Tennis? The more I thought about it, the more it became painfully clear that basketball -- specifically college basketball -- is the perfect sport for such an occurence (even moreso than football that has many more logistical issues and danger issues -- i.e. that many more people).

So, go ahead and celebrate Minnesota fans! Not that you weren't going dancing anyways, but this more or less makes you a lock. With that in mind, let's take a look at the week that was on OTE.

Stuff The Community Was Talking About:

Is tere - by ICEICETHATGUY13

• I am serious. I really think we need more drunken/'affected' posts by people. It reminds those of us in 8-5+ jobs that there was a time when responsibilities in the midweek were overrated and that life really was not highlighted by talking on the internet about sports teams. Wait, that's just me? Um... well then. I commented then and I'll say it again here, I really think ICEICETHATGUY13 needs to do a live journal for us some night as he becomes more under the influence. The start in a coherent state as it devolves into awesome would be good not only from an entertainment standpoint, but also from a Anthropological side. One day, historians will find these archives and wonder just how awesome we really were.

Indianapolis versus Chicago: where should events be held? - by SpartanHT

• Good discussion on the relative merits of both. Personally, I think we should just rotate the crap out of these events to try and draw as much love from all regions of our ever-burgeoning conference. One of the mistakes, IMHO, the Big XII made was trying to make the Big XII CCG a permanent location in Dallas. Sure, it was the best city in the footprint and definitely was the best facility, but was it fair and did it really make things more 'equal' when it was all said and done? Just stuff to think about.

Stuff the Writers Were Talking About

What's Next for Michigan? - by Brian Gillis

• Brian brings up a lot of good points here. This is a young Michigan team that seems to falter at inopportune times. Is it the hard-to-quantify toughness quotient? Is it lack of maturity? Hard to say, but this is a really tough team to decipher. In theory, they should come out swinging tonight against the starting-to-show-a-pulse Nittany Lions in prep for a showdown with the Spartans. If this team can just play consistent and hustle for forty minutes, they'll be a tough out.

In Praise of Big Ten Basketball - by Graham Filler

• If y'all hadn't noticed, this season is outrageous. The talent level is up, the coaching is off-the-charts, the teams are cohesive, and every night seems to have a Top 25 battle. Minus the horrific officiating, that was outdone mightily by the Big XII the other night, this has got to be the best overall conference season I've watched as a fan. Enjoy it everyone (even you, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Penn State fans). Being a part of a good conference is generally good for everyone and hopefully this momentum keeps building. Honestly, there could be as many as 6 Sweet Sixteen teams in this conference (I would argue 7, but that would be a seeding miracle).

Gophers Look for Statement Win/Minnesota 77-Indiana 73 - by apy5000

• I appreciate these two articles as bookends. It was almost like apy5000 was calling his shot (and it was almost like that because he more or less was). Most of us knew that this had that dreaded, "Trap Game" written all over it and it's not like Indiana is perfect on the road. Nonetheless, it was awesome and now we have a crazy finish to the Big Ten regular season. Also, Tubby (who was probably safe regardless) is now firmly entrenched in another year of coaching and the Gophers are going dancing. This year has been a blast!