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THE CURSE DISCOVERED 
Robbie Beucler's three-point shot last year. A 17-point blowout loss in 2004. A tough one-point loss in 2003. An early exit from the Tournament in 2002.
These are the unmistakable marks of an MCC Tournament Curse which took years to understand.
In four years of cheering for the two best men's basketball teams in the MCC, I've been on the losing end of the Tournament Championship game every single year, first as a Taylor student from 2001-2003, and then as a Forester fan from 2003-2005.
THE CURE IS IMMINENT
Good news, HU faithful. The championship banner will once again hang in the Merillat Complex because I'm soon out of here.
I'm done with my classes, though I won't get the diploma until May, which means I'll be leaving this semester and that should end "The Curse" in plenty of time for HU to take the next Tournament Title in March.
HISTORY OF THE CURSE
My life as a curse looks something like this. In my introduction to MCC basketball at Taylor, we were heavily favored in the 2002 tournament, but then Marian got lucky at the wrong time and knocked us out early.
Thus, Taylor wasn't even in the game when Huntington took the title that year. Now think about it; don't I deserve a little credit for Huntington's win in 2002?
The next year Taylor was in the final game but the result was the same. I heard our 2003 one-point loss at Huntington on the radio. What a frustrating loss for a Trojan fan that was. Again, don't I deserve some credit for getting HU a win there, too?
When I transferred north, I joked with my friends that I had come to Huntington to be on the winning side of the rivalry. Well, so much for that theory.
Now I feel I must apologize for my apparent role in the Foresters' MCC Tournament losses to Taylor the past two years.
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ANNUAL HEARTACHES
As much as Forester fans really get into the games versus Taylor, I'll bet that I'm the one with the most emotions riding on the outcome of these games.
I wanted so badly to get together with my Taylor friends before one of those last two big Championship games, don the Green, cheer the Foresters on to a big win, and then rub in the Taylor loss after each game. But it never happened.
THE CURSE BE GONE
One might argue the curse would go away if I simply cheered equally for both schools and was then happy with whichever team won.
Perhaps I'll feel that way in a few years, but right now I'd rather pull for a classic HU-TU championship game in which our Foresters emerge with an exciting win.
Since I hope to be raking in big money as a journalist somewhere by the time the MCC tournament rolls around in March, I'll need to follow Huntington Hoops on the internet. But I'm hoping my alma mater will win the MCC Tournament in 2006, as a first step in a memorable run in the NAIA Tournament.
- by Matt Hawkins ('06)
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#32 Chase Verba
#33 Steve Snider
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