As a writer who covers UB sports, I've gotten used to writing about teams that lose.
There is always a point in the semester when I think I have run out of creative ways to make a losing team interesting.
The baseball team gave us all a nice change of pace this spring.
For a school that doesn't have much history of winning, the perennially basement-dwelling baseball team was not the first place to look.
A year after making their first ever Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Bulls were chosen to finish in the bottom of the conference in 2013.
Even when the Bulls started conference play with a winning record, it was chalked up to a weak non-conference schedule.
Then something amazing happened. They started to win and they didn't stop.
It didn't matter if the Bulls were losing by four runs in the bottom of the ninth or winning by one run in the eighth - in situations where they always used to find ways to lose, they now found ways to win.
They were the only team in the MAC to win every conference series, including a sweep of defending champion Kent State, and they held first place until the final day of regular season play.
Though they didn't win the regular season title and bowed out of the tournament much earlier than expected, this team showed a resilience and grit rarely seen from UB sports teams.
I find it appropriate that they started 2013 on a strong note, because the 2013-14 sports seasons have the potential to be some of the best in school history.
The baseball team was led by a group of gritty, hardworking seniors who took their lumps as underclassmen. The football and men's basketball teams have similar leadership.
Senior outfielder Jason Kanzler won MAC Player of the Year for the baseball team after leading the league in home runs and dazzling with his glove.
Senior running back Branden Oliver, senior linebacker Khalil Mack and senior forward Javon McCrea all have the capability to dominate the conference in a similar fashion.
On top of that, this season has been anticipated for years from the football and basketball teams.
It's been 13 years since Buffalo jumped to Division I and it looks like it may finally be time for the Bulls to announce their arrival as a winning school.
With a new, ambitious athletic director, strong returning talent on nearly every team and every program seemingly moving in the right direction, it's time for fans to at least have expectations for these teams.
This has happened in the past as well. The last two seasons, the football team seemed just a game away from putting together pivotal early-season victories but never could. Instead, the Bulls had their third and fourth consecutive losing seasons.
The basketball team struggled this season, and despite upsetting No. 24 Akron and ending its 19-game winning streak, the Bulls couldn't make it past the quarterfinals.
But something tells me this year is different. These aren't the same old UB sports teams; these are teams with hungry, talented leaders who are just as sick of losing as the fans.
These are the players who are going to carry UB sports into relevance.
But why is the baseball team so important? It paved the way.
If these teams that have so much potential this year falter and lose a game or it seems like they are against insurmountable odds, they only need to look at what the baseball team accomplished.
The Bulls climbed out of the cellar, and after nine years of absence in postseason play, they had enough. They willed their way into the playoffs in 2012 and established themselves as a championship contender in 2013.
If a program that receives fewer scholarships than its competition and doesn't even have an on-campus facility can do that, what can the two biggest programs on campus do?
I'm willing to bet a lot more than people think.
Email: ben.tarhan@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
