Memphis vs. Kansas: A decade later, time has not healed the wounds of the 2008 national title game

Ten years ago Sunday, this city woke up to the hard reality that the Memphis Tigers had somehow lost the national championship game to Kansas, despite leading the game 60-51 with 2:12 left.

Does time heal all wounds?

I asked.

Y'all said the answer is an emphatic, “NO!”

How it feels now

“I recently listed that game as one of the top five worst moments in my life, along with the death of a parent and a miscarriage.”

— Stephanie Chockley

“I still can’t breathe every time I think about it.”

— Jeff Brittain

“Last week, my son who is now 16, admitted he cried himself to sleep that night. I told him so did your dad, granddad and uncle.”

— Keith Dilly

“To this day it remains the first thing I think of when I wake up and last thing before I go to sleep.”

— Matt Moskovitz

“Time doesn’t heal all wounds. Scarred forever.”

— Bryan Roberts

“It changed my perspective on being a fan. I no longer get emotionally involved. It’s not worth it.”

— Roger Rhodes

“Geoff, I think it is still just too soon to write this column.”

— Jamie Russell

How it felt then

“This may sound dramatic but it felt like death.”

— Ann Mosiej

“After the final OT buzzer sounded, I walked outside on my porch and cried. Grown man, just crying on my porch for a few minutes.”

— Colt Lester

“I was on my couch with my then girlfriend (wife now) crying.”

— Andy Ballard

“It was the best time I ever had for the first 38 minutes of the game. Then it was as sad as a funeral.”

— Mike Swearingen

“I had to nearly babysit Mike Swearingen after he locked himself in his bedroom in a state of total despair. His wife was traveling for work and was on speakerphone trying to convince him all would be OK.”

— Karen Melton

“I was watching the game on my laptop in my patrol car in Austin, Texas. After the defeat, my phone lit up with condolences. I begrudgingly got back to work and went to do my first traffic stop. As I pulled behind him what do I see but a KU sticker on the back window. I could not believe it. Never seen a Kansas sticker before or after that. Terrible night.”

— Jason Kee

"On that Tuesday morning, I was working with George Klein at Horseshoe. For the first time in his life, he was speechless."

— Steve Conley

“I was sitting next to a stranger on the flight back home from San Antonio. I hadn’t slept and was emotionally and physically exhausted. He saw my Memphis sweatshirt and said `I was pulling for you guys last night.’ I started sobbing on the airplane.”

— Ashley Barbee

“The paper landed in my yard the next day, and I couldn’t even take it out of the bag. I couldn’t bear to look at the headline. I never did look at that issue. I still have it in the bag in a drawer in my house.”

— Tara Milligan

"After it was over, as I recall, we shot the TV as though we were Elvis, howled at the gods and burned the neighborhood to the ground."

— Andy Gaia

“As we left the the Alamodome after the game, we noticed a man with dreads sitting on the curb wearing Tiger gear, his head in hands, feeling the exact same thing were all feeling. We took a closer look and realized it was Tiger legend DeAngelo Williams.”

— Justin Sanders

“Watched it with my husband who was a UM alumni and I am from KS. He died a week later.”

— Kim Tutt

Who jinxed it?

“If you’re looking for who jinxed it, it was definitely me. In the last few minutes, I went to the beer fridge and brought out the bottle of Dom on ice. Not regular champagne. Dom Perignon. Didn’t open it, but had it ready. I’m sorry. Please don’t rat me out. I gotta work in this town.”

— Anonymous

“I believe I am partly to blame for the loss. My best friend and I were sitting in the nose bleeds experiencing the highest high of our lives. I remember like it was yesterday turning to him and saying, `Pat, we are 2:13 away from being national champions.”

— Ryan Smith

“I was trying to talk to my mom on the phone and the arena was so loud I couldn’t hear her. There were a couple minutes left in the game and I said, `I can’t hear you, I’ll call later, we are about to win the national championship.’ So yeah. It’s my fault.”

— Whitney Harrington

“I was at the game with my wife and best friend and his wife. My buddy and I sat lower level while our wives sat upper-level nose bleed LOL. I called her at the 2:09 time out and told her, `We just did it, baby, we just won the national championship.’ Guess I jinxed it.”

— Charles Powell

“I jinxed it. I talked to my son in Phoenix and asked him what size shirt he wanted! Need I say more.”

— Lee Vieron

Some remain bitter

“Miracle Mario, my ass. Should’ve fouled.”

— Amy Powers

“I hate the poor coaching job by Cal at the end of the game.”

— Brian Foster

“What I remember most of all was screaming at the top of my lungs, `FOUL HIM FOUL HIM.’”

— William Spicer

“Terrible floor coaching.”

— Wayne Romesburg

“ALL THEY HAD TO DO IS FOUL!”

— Ron Abernathy

“I’m still mad at Andre Allen.”

— Marcus Gronauer

“Aside from a broken heart, I had over $1,000 of free furniture from Ashley Furniture that was drained with that 3-pointer.”

— David Benton

Others are in denial

“Consults NCAA record book: NEVER HAPPENED.”

— Chris Williams

“I don’t understand why this gets brought up. It didn’t happen.”

— Ian Brown

“Nothing happened because Memphis did not play that season.”

— Jeff Bryant

Some good came of it!

“We went to San Antonio with a group of friends. We had the best time. I remember having a Sam Adams in my hand the entire time, which was funny, because I wasn’t normally a beer drinker. We found out the day after we got home why beer tasted so good to me. Our second daughter, Avery, will be 10 in December.”

— Charity McSwain

“I also remember the awesomeness. I remember how much blue I saw in the city that weekend. It truly felt like Memphis had come together as one for five minutes.”

— Sarah Kelley

“We were at the hospital with my dad post his massive stroke to watch the whole tournament. As much as I hate Cal, I have to thank him and that Tiger team for that glorious run. My dad could not move at the time. I truly believe that run kept him alive. For that I can even forgive the crushing loss.”

— Blue Buckspeed

And now there's a new hope

“Hardaway heals.”

— Gee Joyner

“Only one thing will take the hurt away. Winning it all one day.”

— Clay Crosse

“With Penny, hopefully we will.”

— Carol Larocca