NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Gators held the world’s saddest pizza party in a solemn locker room after being bounced from the SEC Tournament in their first game.
About 15 minutes fresh off their most disappointing loss of the season, tournament officials opened the locker room to reporters for postgame interviews as players munched crust and cheese in near-silence.
I had the privilege of walking up to players when they were in their worst mood: 600 miles away from home, tired and sore — not exactly feeling like social butterflies.
I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining. Watching basketball professionally is an awesome job.
But man, that locker room was bleak.
And after probably their most painful loss — falling to Vanderbilt for a third time — I was tasked with asking these people just how painful it was.
I wasn’t just picking at a fresh scab. I was jabbing it with a microphone and asking how bad it hurt.
I walked up to point guard Chris Chiozza. I asked him about playing in front of a heavy Vanderbilt crowd, since the tournament was held just one-and-a-half miles from the Commodores’ campus.
“Did you feel like the crowd was a factor, like they had a home-court advantage?”
“Nah.”
“It didn’t mess with you guys?”
“Nah.”
Thanks for that.
I get it.
You don’t want to unload your deepest thoughts at your most vulnerable moment to a semi-stranger holding a plastic recorder in your face. That’s understandable.
But it’s also definitely true that the crowd was louder than 1,000 Nashville bachelorette parties, and it’d be nice to get the players’ perspective on the atmosphere.
Oh well, I moved on.
I tried forward Devin Robinson.
He put his headphones on when I approached even though they weren’t plugged into anything.
To his credit, he still politely answered all of my probing questions, which made my job a lot easier.
But being forced to interview someone at their lowest point is inconceivably awkward if you’ve never done it before.
It’s more awkward than asking your Lyft driver not to text and drive.
More awkward than bringing a trash can through the media entrance so your photographer has something to sit on.
More awkward than booking a hotel for four nights only to have the team you’re covering lose its first game.
And while I felt some sympathy for those players, those people, getting their thoughts after the game is critical for connecting the team to the fans reading our stories.
And while it sounds harsh, if you’re going to get up on a podium and bask in the glow after a big win, it’s only fair that you’re just as candid after a loss, even if that sounds … cheesy.
Matt Brannon is the assistant sports editor. Contact him at mbrannon@alligator.org, and follow him on Twitter @MattB_727.
UF guard Chris Chiozza answers questions following Florida's 72-62 loss to Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference Tournament on March 10, 2017, in Nashville, Tennessee.
