March Madness

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.

Still An Impact After A Decade

With March Madness getting ready to start and the NBA season in full swing, basketball has been on my mind lately.  I’ll admit I don’t often keep up with all of the latest college teams until March and I only watch highlights of NBA games.  Once March comes around for the NCAA and the NBA playoffs near, however, I get hooked.  Why is that?  Well I think it comes down to competition.

I grew up idolizing basketball players.  Growing up in Phoenix I often watch KJ (Kevin Johnson)  Sir Charles (Charles Barkley) and Thunder Dan (Dan Majerle) put on a show.  I would watch John Stockton thread the needle on a pass to The Mailman (Karl Malone).  Above all others though, Michael Jordan was my hero.  

Michael Jordan was the epitome of hard work, determination and competition.  He soared through the air better than any super hero you saw on TV.  He made dreams come true with buzzer beaters that always seemed to get nothing but net.  He even collaborated with one of my favorite cartoon characters growing up, Bugs Bunny. 

MJ retired and I moved on to other sports until players like Steve Nash revitalized my love of basketball.  And I thought that would be it.  Michael Jordan a distant memory of my childhood.  I would tell my kids about the greatest player to ever play the game and I’d feel like it was a myth.  It would be like trying to tell people about Babe Ruth.  All of the cigars, booze and home-runs were great I’m sure but to me it’s only a legend.  

Recently however, I re-stumbled upon Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame induction speech (which was ironically 23 minutes long).  He spoke of competition.  From his family, to being told he wasn’t good enough, all of it simply added fuel to the fire.  He called out coaches and former players, holding everyone accountable for ever doubting him.  All his success, all his championships, MVPs, scoring titles because he believed he was better than everyone else, and wanted to prove it through competition.  

If you haven’t seen it I suggest you watch it, and if you’ve watched it, I sure hope it inspired you. Personally after watching this video I realized in order to be successful in life you must believe you are the best, then prove it on the court (the metaphorical court that is).  That drive, and total lack of the hesitation, fear or doubt made MJ unstoppable and if you can emulate that in your life you can be too.

Then you hear things like former Bull teammate, Scottie Pippen saying that LeBron James will be better the Jordan (basically).  Comparisons will be made throughout his career and statistically yes, he may surpass Jordan.  As far as the type of person they are, the commitment and determination they show, and the impact they have on the game is concerned, it’s not even close in my book.  In fact just the other night after making a clutch 3 to tie the game, LeBron gets a chance for the game winner and waves over Dwyane Wade to take the ball.  LeBron will (at this pace) be a hands down hall of famer, but in my eyes he will never surpass Michael Jordan.

I don’t know about you but I’ll be dusting off my basketball shoes for the next few months, imitating that game 6, final seconds shot over Bryon Russell.  So that's sports: from the fan's perspective.

The Start Up

Have you ever watched ESPN shows and listen to these sports casters and go, I can do that?  What about a comment you make while watching a game and the broadcaster says it right after you do?  I'm sure some of you do.  I'm sure many of you feel your opinion is just as viable as people who are paid to give theirs on national television.

That's how I feel.

I am just as capable of voicing an educated opinion on sports topics as anyone else.  Why can't the fan's voice just as credible?  Shows such as Sports Nation (which I love) will hold polls to see how the "nation" feels about a certain topic.  That's great an all but that's not me voicing an opinion, its merely answering a question. 

So that's going to be the point of this blog.  Sports: from the fans perspective. 

-That 1 Sports Guy