Everyone get excited it is that time of year again. The time of year where if you are in school, you constantly look at your phone to check scores. The part of the year where if you work, and you’re lucky enough to work in front of a computer, you have a separate tab open up with a live video feed. The part of the year when the word “bracket” gets used about 1,000,000% more than normal. Don’t bother checking that statistic - it’s an estimate. People we are talking about March Madness. March Madness brings people together. People who know nothing about sports let alone college basketball are watching to see who wins because of a work pool. Friends are driven apart when they have conflicting picks pitted against one another. Its a tournament built for the underdog; the cinderella.
When it all comes down to it that is why we watch. We want to see the little guy win. We want to see that team full of guys who alone are mediocre but together create something magical. We want to see half court shots and full court presses. We want clutch performances by a whole team. We want David to beat Goliath.
Not every year provides us with a cinderella team however. Sometimes it takes one star player to help propel their team to greatness. I remember a few years back when Kemba Walker took the nation by storm with clutch performance followed by clutch performance. I want to see the nations best player make a buzzer beater to win the game. I want to see the next NBA super star born in March.
March Madness is more than just brackets and bets. It’s more than just basketball as well. It’s about hope. It’s about seeing yourself in their shoes and believing you can beat all the odds and be a champion. For those last few minutes of a game during crunch time you feel the anxiety - the pressure. You almost feel like you are wearing a jersey yourself. You fight the pit in your stomach and as you bite your nails the ball is driven up the court. Its quiet but you can hear each tick of the game clock like a gunshot. Everyone’s eyes rest on the outcome of the next 15 seconds. In a flash of your eyes the shot is up. The game is either won or lost in a matter of milliseconds. Before you have time to gather your thoughts on what you just witnessed - the next game is starting and you have this team in your final four. It’s March Madness - try to stay sane.
