A Pig On The Bus

By Big12-Fans Writer Jason Brooks


I don’t have a vehicle. So, when I need to get from one end of Lincoln to the other, I ride the bus. I have taken many bus trips, and I’ve encountered many people. Some are normal, some will freak you out, and yet others sit in their own corner of the bus rambling and mutter about nothing. On this last bus trip I had a one-hour lay over at the bus terminal downtown. I was feeling a bit hungry and decided to get some grub. I walked into one of the many eateries downtown, placed my order of a gyro without onions, and a large Mt. Dew.

Sitting at my table I witnessed something spectacular. Nothing too special, matter of fact most people wouldn’t pay attention to this little detail. Most people would look behind the counter and see a man cooking while the woman took orders. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it either, if it weren’t for fate. I happened to be downtown during lunch hour, and the joint was packed. The only table open was a small table, for one, right next to the cooking area. What I witnessed wasn’t a miracle. No boys and girls what I witnessed was poetry in motion. While the man was cooking the lamb, the woman would prep the plate. She would set the plates off to the side nonchalantly. Every plate was different, and they weren’t in any kind of order that I could tell. Despite all of this the man would grab a plate without looking, and assemble the order. While this place was packed and the two were hopping around, they never lost their cool. Nope, I never saw a single one break a sweat. All the while they laughed and joked around like a young couple in love. Yes boys and girls these two people were as fluid as water.

So what does this have to do with sports? In an odd sort of way it has everything to do with sports. Now a lot of you out there are saying Whoa, hold on a second Pig you’re losing your mind. You’re coming down with Mad Pig Disease! A gyro shop in downtown Lincoln has nothing to do with any sport what so ever. Well hold on to your shorts, because where there is madness --- there is genius.

What I was trying to point out was that these two people had chemistry. Yes, the Pig said chemistry. Not the chemistry of High School and College, so you can put your beakers down. Each one knew what the other one was doing at any given moment, without having to look at the other. It happens everywhere that there is more than one person working. It takes a little while to get to that point, but when it happens it’s a beautiful sight to see. Sports are where we consider Chemistry to matter the most. Mostly because we don’t think about chemistry translating to everyday life. Maybe because it shows up more on the basketball court, baseball field, ice rink, football field, etc. If you built a team in one day and had six weeks of practice together before your first game, your team will start to build chemistry with one another. If your team is pitted against another team that has been together, a full year, your team is going to look silly. Everyone who knows anything about sports knows this already. So why am I taking the time to point this out?

It just so happens that the Big 12 Tournament starts next Thursday, and the NCAA Tournament starts the week after. While everyone will be filling out their brackets based off of RPI and gut feelings, they need to be looking for something else; the Cinderella Story. The Cinderella teams that everyone hates, and yet you find yourself rooting for them. These Cinderella teams found that team chemistry at the right point in time, and make the other teams look silly. While most of these Cinderella teams fizzle once they hit the great eight, they caught fire for a good reason. The reason the clock strikes midnight on these teams are that they come across a team that has had this chemistry much longer. This team chemistry, coupled with superior talent, is ultimately the doom of a Cinderella team.

While anyone who knows anything about sports ultimately knows this, I just happened to think that it was rather interesting that sitting in a gyro shop in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska could make me think of the Big Dance. Next time you’re out and about take a look around. You’ll be surprised just where you’ll find chemistry between two people. Of course this is coming from a Pig, who just happens to ride on a bus.

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