Well, it was short lived, but I have Truman the Tiger right-side up again.
The first thing that got the ball rolling was the football Tigers' victory over South Carolina in the Independence Bowl. The volleyball team had their greatest season ever, coming within one game of their first Final Four and ending the season ranked 8th in the AVCA poll. The women's basketball team has their first ranking in 21 years after winning their last 11 games, including beating last year's national champ Baylor and then throttling nemesis Kansas State. The baseball team is ranked 10th in the Baseball America preseason poll and the rasslin' team is ranked 9th.
But what put me over the edge (in a good way) was last-night's Tiger victory over Oklahoma in men's basketball at Norman (where Mizzou has now won two straight for the first time since I was in high school). The Tigers have won 5 straight including their first two conference games for the first time since Quin Snyder became coach.
Mike DeArmond says it is a great time to be a Tiger.
I don't know why I do this to myself, but other than the Steelers, I have surrounded my sports-fan-self with mediocrity by becoming a fan of the Cubs in baseball and the Tigers in college sports. So I have to be realistic. The bowl win was only one game. Preseason polls are done with so much uncertainty that one has to take them with a big grain of Lawry's. The men's basketball program has been little more than a source of embarrassment the past two seasons. The women's basketball program hasn't done that well either in recent history either.
But, tempering that pessimism is the fact that the baseball team has been solid the past three years, having been selected to three straight NCAA tournaments. The football team had never overcome a 21-point deficit like they did in their come-from-behind win in the Independence Bowl. The men's basketball team has won 5 straight and defeated a ranked foe at their place. The volleyball team has had nothing but success since the Kreklows took over head coaching duties. The women's basketball team is on a big time honey-dip roll and the wrestling team has been solid over the past few years.
Everyone loves a winner.