The shootout and a student's legacy

I attended Xavier University from 2009 to 2013. We went 2-2. That means we beat UC two times and lost to them twice. Games against Dayton mattered, and so did the A-10 championships, but every Xavier alum remembers the school's record against UC during their years on campus.

Whenever I meet another alum we seem to have a set routine on what we say. We ask each other what year we graduated. If the years are far apart we talk about how much campus and the school has changed. If the years are close we ask about professors and Father Graham. If the years are really close then we talk about what the basketball teams were like. Now if it's someone else from the class of '13, we are definitely going to talk about Zip 'Em Up. But what do we always talk about? The shootout and the games against Cincinnati. This rivalry unites Xavier throughout the years in how much we beat UC.

Why does it matter so much though? Simply put, the shootout is the biggest regular season game of the year. The students spend all week talking about it and getting ready for it. The ticket process, when the the game is at home, is even special. And as special as the game is, I will always remember that Xavier University went 2-2 during my time there.

In 2009, Xavier won a dramatic double overtime thriller thanks to a young Tu Holloway. I was not selected in the tent lottery, so I watched it from a dorm room on K4E in Kuhlman, going crazy and screaming throughout the ending before running out to Cintas to celebrate with friends who attended the game.

The next year, the game fell during Christmas break and at Cincinnati. Xavier lost and looked miserable the entire time. I watched the game at my house in West Virginia with a friend who's parents both attended UC. Bad move.

2011 is a year that I do not need to tell you about. We all know what happened. We all know about Zip 'Em Up. At the end of the day though, we won the game and we were now 2-1 during my time*.

By my senior year I felt that I had a better grip on life, my after college plans, and what my purpose was. I also felt that I had come to terms with how not good Xavier basketball was that year. Turns out that was wrong. I watched the 2012 classic SHOOTOUT with my girlfriend and her brother and I quickly learned that losing hurts. Even though our season was down the drain already, I was not happy losing to UC and I was not happy being 2-2 during my Xavier years.

Granted there are some Xavier alum who had a losing record to UC during their years, but losing is never fun. Xavier has won 12 of the last 18 games so there are plenty of young alumni who can look back to their team and think fondly of all the times they beat the bearcats. So my question for you, is how did Xavier fare during your years at Xavier and what memories do you have? Leave your answers in the comments below and we look forward to hearing from. Enjoy the shootout tonight and remember your time at Xavier. AMDG

*Side note. I was at the game, two rows behind the band. Because of my attendance in the student section, I was "indefinitely suspended" from attending basketball games. Fun times, fun times.