Bill Murray: The Man has been at the head of many a hilarious comedy, and Bill Murray: The Legend has made tons of average stories hilariously amazing by making unexpected appearances in the most random of places. But there is apparently a limit to just how much mirth the Groundhog Day star can be accountable for, and this weekend was the bearer of catastrophically bad mojo when Murray was captured on camera at the end of Sunday night’s NCAA March Madness match-up between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Xavier Musketeers. Just look at this face and try not to collapse into a pile that’s indiscernible from the tear-soaked remains of an extra-large box of Kleenex.
It’s okay if you suddenly find yourself wondering if there is anything left worth doing after Bill Murray’s face cast The Dark Shadow on the world in a moment prophesized in The Ancient Text. There isn’t, to soothe your wondering mind, but it’s okay, since we’re now living in The Great Illusion, where Dr. Peter Venkman has assumed the identity of the Messiah.
Now back to the “real” world. It was no coincidence that Bill Murray’s sullen gloom took shape in the stands of that arena. The actor’s son, Luke Murray, is one of the assistant coaches for Xavier, so there was definitely a vested interest in the game’s outcome. It looked like the game might head into overtime with the score tied at 63, but Bronson Koenig of the #7 Badgers took the inbound pass with two seconds left and put up a buzzer-beating three-point shot. It was a heartbreaking shock for everyone hoping to see the #2 Xavier go all the way, but no one gets more sympathy than Bill Murray. Not even that young girl visibly freaking out behind him.
Almost making it worse is the fact that Murray’s moment is immediately followed by Wisconsin players gleefully jumping up and down with excitement.
You can head to the NCAA YouTube page to check out the end of the game. But that's only if you dare put yourself through the grief again.
Bill Murray is a guy that we’ve seen fall out of a cake to honor David Letterman. He’s a guy who’s donned a dress to do tequila shots with Jimmy Kimmel. He was a corpse on Parks and Recreation, and it wasn’t anywhere near as sad as this. Because this sadness is real. It’s more real than you or I, or the planet beneath our feet. And it will haunt us until the end of days.
