There’s taking a loss hard and then there’s how New Mexico basketball writer Dennis Latta reacted to the Lobos’ loss to No. 14 seed Harvard on Thursday night.
Or should we say ex-basketball writer Dennis Latta?
You see, Latta was so incensed by the massive upset that dropped Lobos head coach Steve Alford to a 1-3 record as a No. 3 seed that Latta has apparently quit his job covering the team.
In what appears to be his final piece for Rivals’ New Mexico website, Loboland.com, a piece that has since been deleted, Latta wrote:
I really thought that the University of New Mexico finally had a men’s basketball team that earned the loyalty of their fans.
I was wrong.
I’ve been around Lobo basketball for 33 seasons. For 32 of those seasons, I knew that UNM had a team that could fold and lose to anyone at any time. I never got my expectations too high because a collapse was possible anytime they walked out on that floor.
I thought this team was different. I was convinced that this Lobo team was for real. It had experience, a good front line and a good backcourt and good chemistry and was smart.
I was wrong. ….
But I won’t be wrong again. It was a lot easier to take when expectations were lower. Losing was acceptable because UNM had almost always lost when it really counted. You didn’t have visions of greatness, only to have them dashed. After the pitiful performance UNM put up against a team that doesn’t even offer scholarships, I’ve given up. Having all five starters back next season means nothing on a team that can just disappear like that. I’d be back to wondering when it would collapse, have a terrible game and lose to an inferior team again.
No, I’ve had it. I’ve been to my last Lobo basketball game after covering the team for much of the last 33 years.
Good-bye Lobo basketball.
We’d tell Mr. Latta that it’s only a game, but judging by his manifesto, he’s well beyond grasping that.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
