Talking Sports: A moment that lasts for a lifetime

Somewhere in these sports pages are the results of the Sidney Red Raiders efforts against the Grand Island Northwest Vikings in the 2014 NSAA Girls State Basketball Championships. They'll be photos and a story detailing as much as can be told in the space and time allowed.

But as these words are written the game has yet to be played. It's Wednesday evening and I've just arrived in Lincoln. Like the players, coaches, fans and other media I expect to be prompt in my arrival at Pinnacle Bank Arena. In fact I expect to get there well before the 9 a.m. start to take it all in.

I suppose with the results no more than a page or two away, there doesn't seem much point in detailing how daunting the task before the Raiders. But briefly, No. 1 Northwest is 22-2 and No. 8 Sidney is 17-7. There have been but two common opponents between them. Both the Raiders and Vikings have played McCook and Central City. The common foes edged Sidney in close games that could have gone either way. Grand Island crushed both opponents. The Vikes toppled Central City 67-16 and stunned McCook 65-35.

In fact, the Vikings have crushed a lot of opponents.

So it looks like the old David and Goliath scenario again. Doesn't that kind of sound familiar? Doesn't that remind you of when the Red Raiders football team faced the then top rated Class B team in the state on a field far away from home. That's right, the Raiders didn't win that day - not on the field anyway.

Sidney left Gretna having earned the Dragons respect. Not so much because they fought to a near draw, but becasue they fought their more heralded foe every step of the way. Gretna had to earn everything they got.

No matter what the scoreboard said, it's only what the players say to themselves afterwards that has any relevance.

I expect the girls baskeball squad will give the Vikings everything they have, too. It may not be near enough. It may be just enough or it may be plenty. But that's not really the point. If this team has taught us anything, they've shown us over and over they're not the sort to quit.

Gering learned that the hard way.

Remember? Down 12 points with less than six minutes left in the game. Katelin Cole and Sarah Mahr got much of the credit for their late offensive production, and it was well deserved. But 16-2 runs require defense too - and lots of it.

I suppose that it was fitting that Head Coach Tyler Shaw started his five seniors for that game. Mahr and Cole were joined by Abbi Porter, Rachel Petik and Cody Rowley in the lineup.

The five seniors are about as steady a starting five can be. But they'll be nervous, just like the young ones. Coach will be nervous too. After all, the Raiders haven't made the trip to Lincoln since 2010.

In other words, it will be just as foreign an experience for the veterans as for the rookies.

So will the players and coaches of Grand Island Northwest be nervous. At least they'd better be. That's often the biggest danger for a favorite. Taking their opponent too lightly is an issue that seldom arises for an underdog.

Pinnacle Bank Arena is a new building built to host the home games of the tradition-rich University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. It has a seating capacity of over 15,000 for basketball. How cool is that? These small-town girls from Western Nebraska get to play in the big-time. And they earned it. I hope they get there early too and soak it all in before they get down to business.

I've been in lots of big-time buildings before. But my view was most often from the cheap seats and I've always had to pay to get in. OK, I'd get a decent seat once in a while. But I sure never found myself on the field of play. I wonder how many jaws will drop when the girls take their first look around. I wonder how far my jaw will drop when I take my first gander.

Yup. I'm going to set the alarm and call the front desk for an early wake-up call. I want to get there before the big mobs roll in.

If that's how excited I am I wonder about the kids, especially the seniors. Win or lose, the last high school game the seniors ever play will be at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.

Whatever happened on the court, I hope they've soaked it all in, because they'll never forget it.