The month of March not only ushers in Spring, it's the month when the nation's attention turns to March Madness and college basketball. Millions of rabid fans, casual fans, and those who just watch basketball because someone they care about loves it, tune in to weeks of Madness in March. You'll hear words that are uttered mostly in March, such as Cinderella teams, bracketology, seeding, selection Sunday, the sweet sixteen, teams on the bubble, office pools, and the final four. And on the Monday after the Men's Final Four, you'll hear the velvet voice of Luther Vandross crooning "One Shining Moment" as the nets are cut down by the winners as the confetti falls.
I've been a serious fan of college basketball since the 1970's, but my passion was at an all-time high in the 1980's. I'd schedule vacation days off so that I'd be able to watch every regional game that was shown throughout the day in my area. Over the years, I've witnessed the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, buzzer-beaters, upsets, and seen college players become superstar professional players. Back in the day I was a huge fan of the Georgetown Hoyas, largely because I had more than a little crush on their coach John Thompson. I still remember how he cared about his players, developing them into not only great players, but also into successful men. I remember that he had an academic coordinator, Mary Fenlon, who always sat on the bench with the team during games. Coach Thompson apparently didn't play about those grades either. I was devastated when North Carolina Freshman, Michael Jordan, hit a last minute shot that beat the Hoyas in 1982, and even more devastated when the Villanova Wildcats upset them in 1985. They were expected to win back-to back championships that year, but they were upset. I had talked so much trash as they advanced through the tournament in 1985 that when they were upset, I considered taking a sick day from work. When I went into work on that Tuesday morning, my Operations Manager who had listened to me talk trash about a definite "repeat", was sitting at my desk waiting for me. "Marilyn, what the he_l is a Hoya anyway", he asked with too much glee. My response was, "the number two team in the nation." I had to eat a lot of crow and I avoided him as much as I could for a while.
Since I'm retired now, I'm free to watch the games that will start later this week, even some that will be played in the West Regional that might end at midnight. I don't have a particular team that I cheer for now, so I'll likely just cheer for the lower seeded teams to pull a bracket busting upset, and try to stay awake long enough to hear Luther's "One Shining Moment" played again on April 8th when March Madness is over and a new champion is crowned.
The NCAA Women's tournament also starts this week and their Championship Game is on Sunday, April 7th. I do have a particular women's team that I'm cheering for, but I'll keep that to myself. I learned my lesson in 1985 and I don't like eating crow.
"Basketball doesn't build character, it reveals it." ~ Unknown
Keep moving forward to shining moments,
Marilyn
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