Karen Forde Celebrates Perceived Mask Enemies Losing In NCAA Tournament

Stop for a second on this glorious Monday morning in March and think about how happy Pat Karen Forde was this weekend when Illinois, West Virginia and Texas Tech lost their NCAA Tournament games. The silver fox wasn't giddy (that we know of) because it helped his bracket. The Sports Illustrated writer was giddy because it meant that COVID mask archenemies (in Karen's eyes) Brad Underwood (Illinois), Bob Huggins (West Virginia) and Chris Beard (Texas Tech) had been eliminated from the Tournament.

Here we were as a nation, on the edge of our seats, looking to see which teams would advance to the Sweet 16, and Forde was running through his mental notes on which college basketball coaches "seemed the least interested in wearing their masks this season." Pat Karen sat there in Indianapolis mentally fist-pumping that his COVID enemies had lost.

What makes Forde's giddiness even more interesting is that it was Jim Boeheim who had mask issues all year, not necessarily Bob Huggins. Was Karen Forde prepared to put Boeheim into his mask police tweet if Syracuse had lost? Let's go with yes.

Surely Pat didn't miss the February 9 Letter to the Editor section from Syracuse.com when Ellyn Roloff of Baldwinsville, NY went off on the 'Cuse head coach:

To the Editor:

Can you please do another story about the way Jim Boeheim “wears” his mask at Syracuse University basketball games? He should be ashamed of himself and he should be fined or censured for his lack of consideration and sense of responsibility. During a recent game, he had it around his chin while he was shouting at a player and a ref. I don’t care how much money he makes for the university; he needs to be intent on keeping others safe!