A couple of weekends ago, I headed to Columbia, SC to cover the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
During the car ride there, my fellow journalism friends and I talked about the fact that if UCF won the first round, we would most likely be playing Duke, the number one overall seed, on Sunday.
We flirted with the idea that we could possibly upset Duke if every player came with his all — and we almost did.
Almost.
The game came down to the last seconds. I was sitting almost directly underneath UCF's basket in my photo square when it all went down. UCF needed one more basket to take Duke down for what would have been the biggest upset of the tournament. Junior guard Aubrey Dawkins almost did it. He attempted a tip-in in the last seconds of the game. The ball spun around the rim for what seemed like an eternity. I looked away.
A few seconds later, Dawkins fell to his knees right in front of me. I knew at that moment that it didn't go in. The team was that close — that close to advancing to the Sweet 16 and proving to the world that this basketball program is nothing to underestimate.
As a journalism student at UCF, I've covered a lot of sports. I've seen losses, but none of them felt like this. My first instinct was to make sure I got photo and video of every moment, so I pulled out my phone and started shooting the aftermath. I was still in shock, even throughout the press conference. I just kept doing what I know best: to just cover the game to the best of my ability. As players and fans cried around me, I didn't shed a tear.
However, when I got back to my hotel and started filing my story and going through my photos from the night, it hit me. I may be a journalist, but I am also a Knight. I bleed black and gold, and I always will. I finally let myself have a moment. It hurt in a way I have never experienced before. It was 100 percent my hardest moment as a student journalist.
But through all the madness and sadness, above all, I was proud. I was proud that I was able to cover the weekend the way I did, I was proud of all of the UCF fans that made the trip to support the team and I was proud of the way the boys went out and performed on the national stage.
We may not have come out on top that night, but we are still winners.
No matter how hard those moments Sunday night were, they are still my favorite moments I've spent covering UCF. That game is one I will never forget, in the best way. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to be on the court that night.
Go Knights, March On.
