THE ROAD BACK: Less than 24 hours after he broke his leg (inset), Louisville guard Kevin Ware is up on crutches. (
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The No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is the beneficiary of bountiful blessings.
Despite Rick Pitino’s assertion the Midwest Region was the “Death Bracket,” Louisville got to play two quasi home games in Lexington, Ky., and two more in Indianapolis.
There was more red in Rupp Arena and Lucas Oil Stadium than in “Les Miz.”
But there is a tremendous deficit that comes with No. 1 — always has, always will.
You become the team to beat, Public Enemy No. 1, the disdained privileged.
That’s the role Louisville would have taken into Saturday night’s semifinal Final Four matchup against underdog No. 9 seed Wichita State — big, bad Louisville vs. gritty, overachieving, upstart Wichita State.
Not anymore.
The second Kevin Ware’s right leg shattered on Sunday in the first half of the Cardinals’ win over Duke was the second that Louisville ceased being the team to root against.
You don’t have to root for the Cards but you can’t root against them. Not if you’re human. Not if you’re humane.
You couldn’t have seen some of Ware’s teammates collapse on the court while others got physically ill on the bench, couldn’t have seen the agony of grief on Russ Smith’s face, couldn’t have watched Rick Pitino wipe away the tears in the middle of an Elite Eight game and root against the Cards.
You couldn’t have heard the words that Ware, with a towel draped over his leg so he wouldn’t have to see the bone that had broken through his skin, repeat to his teammates and root against the Cards.
“Just win the game. He kept repeating it over and over,’’ Pitino said yesterday on a Final Four coaches conference call. “That was on my mind all night, how valiant he was with that type of injury.’’
Louisville had a cause coming into this tournament. Jack Curran, the legendary coach at Archbishop Molloy, died on the eve of Louisville’s first game in the Big East Conference Tournament. Smith, one of Curran’s former players, dedicated the NCAA Tournament to him.
But for the rest of the Cards, Curran was one degree of separation away. For the nation, Curran was many degrees of separation.
Ware was Louisville’s brother. He sweated and lifted and took thousands of shots when no fans were cheering. And Sunday afternoon he bled for them.
Pitino said the Sunday night surgery on Ware’s leg went well, that he was up and about on crutches yesterday and in great spirits. Because the bone penetrated the skin causing an open wound, Pitino yesterday said there is slight concern of infection but, “He’ll be with us in Atlanta.’’
He should be. He must be.
“I know right before the surgery, when he was able to watch the players at the press conference, the nurses and doctors told me that was the first time he broke down and cried,’’ said Pitino. “When the players were talking about him.’’
If the basketball gods have the slightest bit of compassion, and we’ve witnessed a lot of crying these two weeks as young men have seen their dream come to an end, Ware will be on the Louisville bench Saturday night.
The sophomore guard from The Bronx was just coming into his own this magical March month. His 6-foot-2, 175-pound long frame made him the perfect pickpocket in Louisville’s full court press. And he was starting to attack the basket as well.
Yes, Louisville is the No. 1 overall seed, a program that Pitino yesterday boasted earned $44 million last season, more than the Green Bay Packers.
But we can’t lose our way and continue to see the capitalistic Cards, the popular pick in brackets across the country, as the face of this Final Four.
Kevin Ware is the face of the face of this No. 1 seed, the face of the tournament.
After witnessing that injury, after seeing his suffering, after watching his teammates’ tormented reaction, after listening to Ware’s regal, selfless words, you don’t have to cheer for the Cards.
You just can’t root against them.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com