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Good Will Hunter

Cheering with the enemy

By Ryan Greene
February 14, 2007 | 1 comment

Zac Hunter chips in his two cents while bloggin' from Boston.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And Tuesday night, Bobby Knight was my friend.

I probably shouldn't call him Bobby, considering I don't know him. Robert would be more appropriate. And, as I don't generally enjoy getting popped in the mouth, I certainly won't call him Knight.

I better drag myself back on point because I could go on about Knight for a while. I found myself being quite the Red Raiders fan Tuesday night. I felt their pain, as Acie Law IV drained a three-pointer with less than 10 seconds on the clock to the tie the game. It wasn't as bad as when he buried that deep three-ball in Allen Fieldhouse, but it was bad nonetheless. And I was one step shy from breaking out "Guns Up" as Jarrius Jackson nailed a 12-footer as the clock ran out. Robert and the Red Raiders had to settle for a fist pump instead.

But after the game I found myself a little conflicted, because about a month ago I was uttering words in Knight's direction that I wouldn't say after five drinks in a dank riverboat casino. But things change. Things like the Aggies knocking off the Jayhawks in the Fieldhouse and going one game up in the Big 12 standings. Things like Texas A&M jumping ahead of Kansas in the national rankings.

Those things seem to change your perspective. I know the glass-half-empty crew will say Kansas is a team that shouldn't look to the lowly Raiders for help. The same crew will say the 'Hawks had their chance and blew it, along with a double-digit lead against the Aggies. But guess what? Everyone needs help to win a conference title. No one's running the table in the conference anymore.

And that's why I'm officially on the bandwagon of the Aggies' remaining schedule. I'm not interested in another split Big 12 title. I want this Kansas team looking down on the rest of the conference on March 3.

Thus, I've decided that I'll sing The Eyes of Texas, send well wishes to my Oklahoma friends and even pretend to not be freaked out by the giant plastic cowboy head the Oklahoma State mascot wears. Although that might be a chore, because that thing haunts my dreams.

I'm hoping all my cheering will be enough because I don't want to think about a tie at the top of the standings coming into the final weekend. That's a line I dare not cross. Texas A&M finishes its regular season schedule at Missouri. I can’t root for Missouri. I won’t root for Missouri. I fear that once I step into the world of Tiger fans there is no going back. I might as well start pulling fire alarms in opposing teams' hotel rooms and start an NIT pool at my office.

As for now, Kansas can sit tied at the top of the Big 12 standings, barring a disaster in Boulder, with nothing in its way but some Big 12 North junk and the Texas Longhorns. With a little bit more help from some enemies the Jayhawks will be all alone at the top.