greatness

By defeating Omaha Roncalli in the district final, the 1992 Warriors had accomplished a primary goal of reaching the state tournament. From the start, this team had known it would be measured against the success of four championship teams. By claiming the B3 District Championship, those Warriors at least put themselves in a class with the other Wahoo teams that had been to state. They had proved they were a “good” team; probably better than just a “nice” team. And in some eyes they were already in the category of a “great” team. Todd Fitzgerald, a senior from Roncalli, Wahoo’s district final opponent, had commented, “They’re a great team. I know now why they’ve won 113 in a row.” Coach Doug Woodard of Roncalli echoed those sentiments: “They’re a great team with a class group of kids and a class coach.”

But being “great” is a relative term. The 1992 Warriors had a unique perspective. While many high school players dreamed of and strove for a state tournament experience, the thirteen players who had suited up during the district tournament for Wahoo knew of nothing different. Amazingly, none of them had sat at home during the Nebraska State Basketball Tournament since they entered high school. Indeed, for most of them, they had been part of the Wahoo emigration to Lincoln even since junior high days. And yet, the Wahoo team and coaches did realize the challenge presented by the district tournament. Jeff Simons had commented, “Districts are really the place you have to work. You have to play your hardest to get to state, then you go and play more for fun.” Coach Anderson also saw winning the district tournament as a major accomplishment: “People don’t realize how tough it is to get to Lincoln. We don’t have the luxury of a wild card. We’ve won a lot of games in a row and won some state championships, but you still have to win that last game to get down to Lincoln. That’s a lot of pressure.”

So, to some degree, the team that boarded the bus outside of Bellevue West High School on that Tuesday night for the return trip to Wahoo was smiling with a sense of accomplishment. They could look at the District Championship plaque and be proud that they would have one side by side with the previous five. But there was also a bit of apprehension already settling into the Wahoo mind set. Others may have declared them to be a “great” team, but they knew what it meant in Wahoo to be considered “great.” There was only one way to do that -- they had to keep Coach Anderson erasing those numbers on the chalk board until it was a “0” and they had claimed that fifth consecutive title. They knew they were capable. They had stepped up to the challenge of the district tournament and now they would have to do the same thing again in Lincoln the next week. Then they would be comfortable with the accolade of being “great.”