The Triumph of the Underdog.
And I'm not talking about a cartoon. I'm talking about basketball.
Unless you've been on a media blackout, or not paying attention to the office e-mails with the words "March Madness" or "Office Pool" in the title you know that we're in the middle of the biggest basketball month of the year. Not just NCAA Men's and Women's Tournaments but the State Basketball Title. Non-stop action for three weeks--on the court and off--and I'm talking gambling, not what some of you are thinking.
Don't ask me why I love basketball. I don't even understand most of the rules. Ball goes in hoop. Points are scored. Refs blow whistles. Mayhem ensues. Maybe it's the cute outfits and the collegiate colors. Or maybe it's the emotional frenzy, the pep band and the antics of the mascots. Grown man dressed in a Gopher suit? It could even be the absolute beauty of a perfect 3-point shot.
Maybe because there's no sure winner. Or maybe it's because a #11 ranked team can blow out a #1 ranked team and make it to the Final Four. The Underdog story of the century (so far) -- little George Mason University (who's even heard of them?) beat #6 Michigan State; then they pummeled #3 NCU. Then they shut down #7 Wichita State and if that wasn't enough they stunned #1 University of Connecticut in overtime on Sunday afternoon. I could hardly sit still to watch it! This year all the #1 teams got squashed. Grown men sent home crying. I love it.
Closer to home, DeLaSalle took the State title by beating Duluth East. Early in the season, my sister, Rita, and I watched De get their butts kicked from one end of the court to the other. Talk about underdogs, De was whole team of little guys up against big, corn-fed country boys. Oh my, I thought. Not this year.
But no. Somehow, by the end of the season, the little guys prevailed. Even their coach seemed surprised, "This isn't the most talented team I've had at DeLaSalle, but. . . " But they won. Anything can happen for the underdogs. To quote De guard, Cameron Rundles, "we just were tough. We are kind of undersized, but heart doesn't have a height."
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love basketball.
Unless you've been on a media blackout, or not paying attention to the office e-mails with the words "March Madness" or "Office Pool" in the title you know that we're in the middle of the biggest basketball month of the year. Not just NCAA Men's and Women's Tournaments but the State Basketball Title. Non-stop action for three weeks--on the court and off--and I'm talking gambling, not what some of you are thinking.
Don't ask me why I love basketball. I don't even understand most of the rules. Ball goes in hoop. Points are scored. Refs blow whistles. Mayhem ensues. Maybe it's the cute outfits and the collegiate colors. Or maybe it's the emotional frenzy, the pep band and the antics of the mascots. Grown man dressed in a Gopher suit? It could even be the absolute beauty of a perfect 3-point shot.
Maybe because there's no sure winner. Or maybe it's because a #11 ranked team can blow out a #1 ranked team and make it to the Final Four. The Underdog story of the century (so far) -- little George Mason University (who's even heard of them?) beat #6 Michigan State; then they pummeled #3 NCU. Then they shut down #7 Wichita State and if that wasn't enough they stunned #1 University of Connecticut in overtime on Sunday afternoon. I could hardly sit still to watch it! This year all the #1 teams got squashed. Grown men sent home crying. I love it.
Closer to home, DeLaSalle took the State title by beating Duluth East. Early in the season, my sister, Rita, and I watched De get their butts kicked from one end of the court to the other. Talk about underdogs, De was whole team of little guys up against big, corn-fed country boys. Oh my, I thought. Not this year.
But no. Somehow, by the end of the season, the little guys prevailed. Even their coach seemed surprised, "This isn't the most talented team I've had at DeLaSalle, but. . . " But they won. Anything can happen for the underdogs. To quote De guard, Cameron Rundles, "we just were tough. We are kind of undersized, but heart doesn't have a height."
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love basketball.
posted by MadgeMc at 9:41 PM
2 Comments:
Nothing gave me chills quite like that little underdog George Mason, or watching Coach Thorson cry his way through another celebration in the Florance Center...but then I read Rundles' quote and thought "Wow...see they teach big things at De!"
In your description of why you love basketball, I can't believe you left out your carnal attraction to wiry, heroin-thin, athletic men. Is it 'cause your kids read your blog? They can take it! (Eeeeew!)
C'mon, you know you still love Lance no matter how many women he's left! Just think if he played hoops!
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