MArch MAdness

By the time you read this, many of you who’ve filled out a bracket for the NCAA College Basketball tournaments are looking forward to a weekend where the “Sweet 16” college basketball teams continue their quest for a seat at the Final Four series of games. Whether the championship destination is Minneapolis for the women or New Orleans for the men, the intensity of competition is heating up. 

There’s something about March Madness, don’t you think? Such a concentrated period of competition lends the best kind of sport drama. It’s a time when the seemingly invincible teams fall, leaving shock waves; and the almost written off underdogs soar to unexpected victory. I remember back in 2018, during the first round of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, number 1 overall seed, University of Virginia (my son’s alma mater which is why I remember so well) played against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). The Retrievers were ranked number 16 in the South regional bracket. UVA was expected to win the entire tournament; yet in this first round game, Virginia lost to a team no one thought could win. Instead, UMBC earned a page in the sports history book for one of the greatest victories ever. Not since No. 16 seed Harvard beat No. 1 seed Stanford in the woman’s tournament 20 years before had there been a similar upset in the first round of NCAA tournament basketball. I’m sure the Harvard women of 1998 of are still talking about that one. 

What makes UVA’s defeat even more poignant is that the following year, the Cavaliers enjoyed the sweetest redemption by becoming 2019 NCAA Tournament Champions. You gotta love college basketball.

For a few weeks in March, college basketball fans are swept away by endless possibilities. The space between my writing and you reading this will no doubt yield game time stories that defy expectation. Maybe we all love the story of the underdog. After all, David had to show up believing he could defeat Goliath when probably no one else thought he had a chance. Coaches’ messages to his or her players during half time reinforcing a belief in the chance of victory are words these young players might remember for all time. School spirit bravado will follow the unlikely victories for those teams who score on a Hail Mary lob from half court as the buzzer signals game over. Tie-loosened, sweat soaked coaches will jump up and down while stunned players run to embrace the sudden hero of the game. I mean, you can’t make up these nail biting scenarios where the fate is determined in the last seconds of the game. It makes my heart rate increase just thinking about it. 

I’m not really one of those sports fan fanatics, but every March I kind of become one. Filling out my bracket and predicting the winner of the tournament is folly play, as I am the last one to ever think I possess expertise in the world of hoops. But, I do like a story and I do like the world of possibilities. For those teams who are making an unexpected appearance in this Sweet 16 round, remember the game isn’t over till it’s over.

Over the next week, the talk of the town will be about the Cinderella teams that advance even beyond the Sweet 16, and the players and coaches that make such thrills happen. My wish for every team is they put their best foot forward and play like the champions they all are.