Gordon Hayward and a Jag

One would think that, given the current garbage economy, it would be fairly easy to buy a cheap used car. First, there aren't a lot of people looking to buy cars. And there should be a lot of people who need extra money so badly that they'll sell pretty cheaply, right? Surely one should be able to buy a good old used car for under $6000? Nope. Apparently, the used car industry is one invincible muddafukka.

I've been looking for the perfect (or at least good) deal for about 4 months now. It's been nothing short of a headache. I mean, who has time to scour craigslist and cars.com and the newspapers and then make appointments to go see all the cars, take them to the mechanic, etc., when you have a job and a life!? I was so close to ending all this mess this weekend and buying a really nice older BMW, but when I called on Monday, they'd sold it.

This past week has just been an endless loop of disappointments, one after the other. Which reminds me of Gordon Hayward. Monday night, Gordon Hayward had the most disappointing moment of his life. His NCAA Men's Basketball team, Butler, was about to pull off one of the biggest fairy tales in the history of sports. They just had to get through the titan of basketball world, legendary Duke. That's right: Butler vs. Duke. The names couldn't be any more appropriate.

Butler is a small university in the middle of basketball country, Indianapolis. The people there eat, breathe, and sleep basketball. But Butler was a nobody. They didn't have the star players, and the coach had only coached for three seasons. Duke, on the other hand, IS college basketball. They're in the Final Four nearly every year, and oftentimes they win the championship. They've got star players sitting on the bench, and one of the most legendary coaches in the history of all sports.

Somehow, Butler made it to the championship game. Commentators were going crazy, saying it was the movie Hoosiers come real life. Everyone knew Duke would win, and more than likely by a lot, but deep down, I think even Duke fans wanted Butler to win.

Four seconds left in the game, Duke is only up 61-59. Butler gets the rebound, and our man Gordon Hayward gets the ball. EVERYONE is standing. Everyone is praying and watching him. Gordon sprints down the court, leaps at the three point line, and throws it up. It takes 4 minutes to get to the basket. It misses. Duke wins.

I guess this really affects me because I played basketball growing up, and I know the pressure of that final shot and the agony that comes if you miss. In fact, it did happen to me, in a big game. With just about 6 seconds on the clock and down by one point, I steal the ball and sprint down the court. Everyone - my dad, my little brother, that girl I want to impress - is standing and screaming. I'm going in for an easy, game-winning lay-up. Then, it happens. My knee, which I'd hurt that week but had been feeling fine, gave out and I fell flat on my face and watched the ball roll out of bounds.

We all have moments like these, but we also have moments of glory. Unfortunately, it seems that the past week I've had a series of the former, but I'm hanging on for that moment of glory. The game after the one where I fell on my face, I nailed 4 three pointers within a minute, forcing the other team to call a time out. It was glorious, and much needed.

It would really be glorious if I could finally get a car. And I may have found it. It's the 1987 jaguar pictured below. There's probably something wrong with it (there usually is), but if not, I'm going to feel like I lucked out. I can see myself cruising around town in that, Union Jack tag on the front. I'm not getting my hopes up though, no more setting myself up for Gordon Hayward moments.