I think the biggest problem with the analogy though is that only Gary Williams, former players, Terps fans and certain Maryland players would feel that way.

A good chunk of the actual players on the court probably don't even remember these meltdowns until they see ESPN, ABC, or CBS run a little montage on them. Nor would they even think about how their play relates back to them.

Now you could make an argument out of Williams tightening up once he starts to see the signs, and the crowd turning quiet then gasping when they start to see the signs, and the few players who are not mercenaries but wanted to play for the Terps their whole lives starting to put out the scent of panic and fear and how all of this indirectly relates to the performance of the players on the court. But it's not as direct an effect as say Democrats, either elected or grassroots, fear of Bush.

Oh and if you haven't yet, you should check out the all-time NCAA basketball tourney bracket ESPN.com has on Page 2. When you start to put it in perspective it finally dawns on you just how good Duke's basketball philosophy is at covering up their player's flaws.

Of course the analogy loses effectiveness over time, once Maryland wins a few big games against Duke. But 2005 could be considered the year after the comebacks, and the defeats are still singed into the minds of Democrats. We still have many of the same players who were on the court when Bush pulled out a surprise victory in 2004. Many of the fans (myself included) honestly thought Kerry would win that one, and are still recovering. Yes, Duke is on a bit of a losing streak lately with the situation in Iraq, the Harriet Miers nomination, Katrina, and the torture debate, but Maryland's confidence will not return until they pull out a major victory in a high-profile game.

Maryland will have that opportunity in 2006, but that's just a regular season game. It won't have the same emotional impact as the tournament game in 2008. Fortunately, Duke's starting rotation will graduate by then.