I was reminded of this moment last night by my old man (@keithareaves), and before Louisville plays Michigan tonight in the national championship I thought it would be fun to take another look at one of Arkansas' finest field goal attempts.
U.S. Reed's shot -- full with his heinous follow-through -- came against the Cardinals' and shouldn't be ignored. It is one of the all-time great buzzer-beaters of the NCAA Tournament. Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post wrote this last year about Reed's game-winner:
If you are a college basketball fan, the snippet is like finding video evidence of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Or the Magna Carta. Or the separating of the light from the darkness. This was the precise moment when history changed for good, and forever.
He goes onto write how Reed's shot from 1981 was the beginning of March Madness because it was the first season CBS decided to take a risk by cutting away from the not-so-competitive games to more exciting moments. With Turner and CBS now broadcasting every game, we control these channel-changing decisions. And as you can see just before the 18-second end-of-regulation buzzer (watch the video and listen closely), the transitions were rough at best.
A young Bryant Gumbel, Marv Albert, Eddie Sutton, and U.S. Reed destroying the exuberance of Louisville fans on Texas' floor. What a night for the Hogs.
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A native of Arkansas now calling the Hogs from yonder in Georgia, you can follow Graham on Twitter @grahamreaves or read his blog, On My mind In Georgia.