THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Cougs were prime for letdown after stunner

It’s a miserable word.

Choke!

Loathsome, insulting, and used in all the wrong ways by sports fans who know final scores – but grasp little or nothing about the athletes involved.

I’m upset this week because of some emails I’ve received, along with comments I’ve seen in other publications and heard on witless podcasts.

A gentleman I’ll be polite enough to leave anonymous wrote with his opinion of last weekend’s adventures concerning the Washington State hoops team.

It was upsetting.

More on him in a minute.

In case you don’t know the details, the Cougs took down national championship contender Arizona, 77-74 in Tucson – knocking off a team that was No. 4 in the AP poll at tip-off).

Wazzu was a 13-point underdog, but played nose-to-nose with the Cats, and ultimately silenced the crowd for good on a four-point play by Jaylen Wells – who hit a 3-pointer while being fouled and tumbling into a couple rows of seats.

It was one of the most dramatic and meaningful wins in Wazzu hoops history, and it pretty much locked up a spot in the NCAA tournament — an event the Cougs haven’t visited since 2008.

That was last Thursday night, and there were celebrations back home in Pullman.

Lots.

WSU coach Kyle Smith was sent a video of patrons going a little crazy in a downtown pub, and described the whole affair very simply.

“Awesome.”

I KNEW at the time that the Cougs might have a problem before they got home.

They faced a bus ride north to Tempe on Friday, and less than 48 hours after the madness in Tucson, they had to get everything back in sync for a Saturday night match with Arizona State — a weird, talented, but up-and-down team that had played far better at home.

The Cougs could not get fully prepared, no matter how much they worked on it.

Mentally, physically.

It’s SO hard to pull off a thrilling road upset, then travel about 120 miles and try to repeat the act.

You’re spent, and emotionally exhausted.

Arizona State jumped on the Cougs from the start, which was predictable if you think about it at all.

The Devils kept Wazzu from finding the electricity it used to light up the McKale Center just two nights earlier.

ASU won 73-61, putting a damper on the Cougs’ trip — but absolutely not erasing what had been achieved.

The people who follow basketball for a living understood the meaning of that weekend.

Washington State dropped in the AP poll, but only two spots to No. 19.

Just to show that the voters understood what had transpired in the Pac-12 title race (which Arizona now leads by a half-game), the Cats also fell a couple of places, to No. 6.

In other words, the Thursday night battle was the game that mattered if you’re looking at the conference right now.

Arizona is still a potential Final Four team, and Wazzu (21-7) is better than anyone could have imagined.

NOW WE get to the reactions.

Sure, plenty have been wonderful, but not everyone understood what had happened.

Not really.

The fellow I mentioned earlier sent me a message that said: “That’s why Wazzu won’t ever win anything. They get one big upset, then go to Arizona State and just

choke. 

That’s embarrassing.”

There was another email with the word “choke” in it, as well.

I’m sorry, but people who see the games that way are morons.

Losing doesn’t equate to choking.

Ever.

Years ago, a losing coach had given me a remarkable hit of wisdom when I asked what had gone wrong. He wondered why the subject was his team, and not the team who beat them.

“You know, they give scholarships to the other guys, too,” he said. “They’re trying to make plays and throw you off your game — and sometimes they do it.”

That same coach taught me about the foolishness of thinking that athletes can be accused of choking.

“That’s an idiotic idea,” he said. “Sure, you can miss a shot, or make a bad defensive play.

“It happens, but you have to remember that’s a physical thing. If you forget to pick up a man you’re guarding, yes, that’s a mental mistake.

“But choking is a word that implies you lost because of character.

“Would fans who use that word want to say it, straight to the face of a 6-foot-6 player who missed a free throw?”

I hope you’re getting the point here.

You can write me anytime, and say that a team you’re following didn’t play well.

That’s sports.

Don’t tell me someone choked, though.

It shows you don’t understand what you’re watching.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”