A year ago, when Colorado men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle addressed the media following each mounting loss during his team’s 16-18 campaign, I saw a look all too familiar—all too painful.
Throughout the most frustrating year of Boyle’s first six seasons in Boulder, he watched collapse after collapse. Failed experiment after failed experiment. Like many of those that make up the millennial masses of his fan base, sick of toiling in anguish over their failed Tinder dates, it became clear that Tad was, simply, over it.
But with the end of the 2015 postseason—though the CBI felt much more like a post-mortem—came the birds of spring in Colorado, where even the most jaded of college basketball coaches or singles done with mingling can find rejuvenation. The Colorado staff hit the recruiting trail; the fans hit Boulder Creek.
Six months later, conveniently at the outset of Cuffing Season, Boyle has found himself smitten by a new brand of Colorado basketball, a new yet familiar roster, and a pair of road wins that left him with no tired grimaces in front of the media. He is, as the kids say, sprung.
How can anyone blame him? The 2014-2015 iteration of Tad Ball was a series of calamitous blind dates with a team he seemed to know less and less about each night. A squad that looked ready to put away Oregon in the Pac-12 Tournament (before Joseph Young went Mighty Joe Young) looked disheveled against Seattle just a week and a half later. Never mind the awkward breakup of all awkward breakups that happened between the two.
We’ve all been there, truthfully.
All of this is why it’s so incredibly refreshing to see his demeanor as the Buffs have raced out to a 8-1 record, with their lone loss coming in the most hostile of neutral court situations against a top-five team in Iowa State. His jubilation has become contagious—though it has yet to extend to the box office.
What we’ve seen from these Colorado Buffaloes is not unlike what we see in all honeymoon relationships. The chemistry between the bench and all five players on the floor is no less explosive than Fourth of July fireworks in Folsom Field, young love blooming under the spark-lit sky. Where it often felt like Boyle and his players arrived at different gyms, under different circumstances, and with different intentions a year ago, he and his team now finish each other’s sentences with Hugh Grant-like regularity. Sure, there are moments of trouble, like the team’s tendency to never quite stomp out unwanted advances from other suitors. Even Boyle bears responsibility, refusing to call timeouts at opportune times. These issues, however, should not come with any notion of surprise. No relationship is perfect, no honeymoon forever.
This reality is what makes the season thus far so hard to gauge with proper perspective. It’s been fun, flirtatious, and even insanely passionate at times. But wins over Auburn and Colorado State have lost some luster since their final respective buzzers. While BYU carries name recognition, the Cougars lack a single “good” win, thus far. All of these rosy qualities that are shared between Boyle and his team have to be framed appropriately by us without a dog in the fight, without a heart on the line. Assuming the Buffs get by Penn State on Dec. 22 in Las Vegas, their (likely) tilt against SMU would be the first time we get to see this team with an opportunity for a win that would make a national statement. It would be the highest hurdle this group has had to clear, like meeting the parents or the ex—who looks better than ever, obviously.
As of Monday morning, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the Buffs on the outside looking in to his mock NCAA Tournament field, never mind the 21 votes cast in their favor for the AP Poll.
But, like all young loves, we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. Perhaps, we should simply enjoy the ride.
For the first time since early 2014, Colorado fans have a team to enjoy it with, a team that seems as invested as anyone in the relationship. That’s what we’re all looking for isn’t it, a little commitment?
