The NCAA Tournament cameras airing the Kentucky-Abilene Christian game on Thursday night (CBS) should keep a "5-second delay" button handy when showing Abilene head coach Joe Golding stalking the sidelines.
However, this precautionary move has nothing to do with potential foul language ... and everything to do with a pair of lucky pants.
Just moments after Abilene Christian's victory in last Saturday's Southland Conference tournament final (beating New Orleans by 17), Golding could hardly contain – or conceal – his appreciation for the Wildcats' first-ever NCAA tourney appearance at the Division I level.
While celebrating like a teenager with his players and coaches, Golding's pants apparently split on the back side.
It was a moment of embarrassment, for sure, but nothing could deter the rush of making The Big Dance and getting a golden chance at Kentucky in Round 1 – one of college basketball's true blue-blood programs.
Once the championship elation subsided, Golding took the breached pants to his tailor, with the full intent of getting everything sewn up and then wearing the lucky pants once again versus Kentucky.
But it wasn't to be.
The coach's conundrum: Even with a rush order, the tailor doesn't have enough time to fix the ripped pants in full.
RELATED
The tailor's only viable option: Fix the pants just enough that Golding can get by on Thursday night, without calling attention to the previous burst in the seams.
"I'm coaching tomorrow in my baby blue suit, and I'm gonna have a hole in my butt," said Golding from Jacksonville, Florida on Wednesday. "It is what it is. We're going to be who we are and go out and embrace it."
Now, a famous coach with titles in-hand and millions in the bank would probably don a new suit.
However, that's not a realistic option for Golding – an ACU alum who's experiencing his first winning campaign in eight seasons as the Wildcats' head coach (27-6 overall).
In a nutshell, this is why we love the pageantry, excitement, and absurdity of the NCAAs.
