I’m not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but when UNC Asheville lost to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament under tough-luck circumstances Thursday, was I the only one that thought about the Asheville women’s soccer program?  (Cut to you nodding.) Oh, I was? (Slinking in my chair)  … Well, this is embarrassing.

Still, let me hip you to the eerie similarities here:

Exhibit A:

• The Asheville basketball team had it’s season ended by No. 1 seed Syracuse

• The Asheville women’s soccer team lost in the Big South championship by one penalty kick to No. 1 seed Radford

Valid point scale: 8.5 out of 10

Exhibit B:

• Syracuse is in New York, our unofficial nation’s capital

• Radford is in Virginia, near our official nation’s capital

Valid point scale: 5 out of 10

Exhibit C

• Syracuse’s veteran head coach: Jim Boeheim

• Radford’s veteran head coach: Ben Sohrabi

Valid point scale: Searching for the point …

Exhibit D

• (Running out of steam) Both the Asheville basketball and soccer teams, wear … uh, blue?

Valid point scale: Huh?

ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! The point (the only point!) is that I feel bad for UNC Asheville, and I just wanted to recognize them in some way. So, shout out to the Bulldogs. Stay strong (insert cool barking sounds).

I guess I should have just said that from the beginning.

Valid point scale: 10 out of 10