This is the aspect of the movie that grabs me the most when I think about the symbolism with the Longhorn athletic program. Like the movie, the Longhorn universe seemed to change on a dime after one single impactful moment, and while it might not have been New Year's when that moment occurred, it's not far off.
January 7, 2010.
That really is the night that everything changed for the Longhorns and it's a surreal feeling to stand back and think about everything that has happened on the 40 Acres since Colt McCoy was injured in fairly freakish fashion in the national championship game against Alabama. Three-plus years later, the fear that overcame the entire Longhorn universe when it watched McCoy walk off the field for the final time in a Longhorn uniform remains ominous.
Just as it was in the movie, the ushering in of a new decade has proven to be an unkind awakening. An athletic program that was on top of the world in seemingly every major men's sport (basketball team was No. 1 in the country just weeks earlier and the baseball team played for the national title in 2009 as well) has never been the same.
On a somewhat related note, with the latest drama surrounding Kawhi and the Spurs, I have been asking myself this question over the weekend... Is the Zaza/Kawhi moment on May 14, 2017 THE MOMENT for the Spurs that will send their franchise into NBA purgatory for the next decade? It is too early to tell, but there are also too many warning signs to discount the idea.
Prior to the moment, the Spurs had 20 consecutive years of sustained success that is unmatched in NBA history. They had a top 3 player who was 25 years old and just about to enter his prime NBA years. They had a 25 point lead in the Western Conference Finals over the best team in the NBA in the last 3 years on their own floor.
Then Zaza happened, just like the Marcel Dareus moment happened. Then I think about everything that has happened since:
1. The Spurs record since that moment occurred: 36-29, which isn't terrible but certainly not near the level of any other Spurs team the last two decades. This will be the first season since 1996-97 where they fail to win at least 50 games, and the first season since 96-97 where they will have a losing road record.
2. Total number of games and minutes played by Kawhi since that moment: 9 and 220.
3. Mysterious Kawhi quad injury shows up out of nowhere forcing him to miss basically the entire season.
4. Public dissention and drama between the Kawhi camp and Spurs unlike anything that has ever happened with the Spurs and one of their stars.
5. Worst Spurs offseason of the last 20 years in the free agency department last summer, highlighted by bad long-term contracts given out to Gasol and Mills, not being able to re-sign Simmons, and not closing the deal with Chris Paul or any other top-tier PG.
There's a chance that this year is a one-year blip on the radar for the Spurs, Kawhi returns to MVP form next year, his quad injury goes away forever, the relationship with Kawhi is restored and he signs a super max extension this summer, they find someone to take Gasol's bad contract this summer, and even a chance that they sign LeBron this summer to team up with Kawhi and take down the Warriors, winning multiple more championships.
Or there is a chance that Kawhi demands a trade this summer, LeBron goes to the Rockets, they can't dump Gasol's contract, LaMarcus's knee starts hurting again, or Kawhi signs a super-max deal, plays in 10 games, his quad injury flares back up, and he has to retire because his quad is a chronic condition with $200M left on his contract.