Tourney Fever

Peter E.

March 16, 2010 - 4:09 PM

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a fever. Once a year at this time I contract March Madness. Sure, sure, everyone loves filling out their brackets, rooting for Cinderellas on CBS, and following their school in the tournament. However, for me, the tournament is always the best time of the year.

Since the eighth grade, my Dad and I have been to the NCAA Basketball Tournament every year minus one (my freshman year of college). We don't travel with the Ducks or any team in particular; rather, we pick whatever site is most convenient or fun in the western bracket. We've traveled to Salt Lake City twice, Seattle, Sacramento, Tucson, and Portland. In the course of two days (broken up with one day in between the first and second rounds), we spend about twelve hours inside an arena and probably about an additional twelve watching other games on TV in sports bars. However, outside the arena we do get a taste of the city, go snowboarding, and visit with family.

It's great time to spend with my Dad (who began the tradition eight years ago), and in the years since we've added family to the mix with my Uncle Mark joining us from Seattle, my Cousin Betty from Fresno, and last year Cousin Mel from Portland and my Mom. It's a great way to see family in an atmosphere that is absolutely incredible.

During the first and second rounds you get eight different schools converging on a city. There are always heavyweight favorites like UCLA, Duke, Michigan State, or Indiana with an air of confidence that the first and second rounds are simply a warm up for their team that's headed to the Final Four. However, there's always small, obscure schools like Vermont or Weber State that are just happy to be there. Once inside the stadium, you see the difference in basketball programs and regions with Southern California schools' cheerleaders perfectly tanned, and then you see the Midwestern girls from a directional school pale and white. The bands tell a lot too. Bigger schools typically have pretty comparable bands that play the same pep tunes, and their uniforms are fairly normal. On the other hand, the small schools have a pretty shaggy looking bands that look like they just rolled out of bed. That said, they have some of the best chants because they are the cheering section for schools that don't travel well. I remember Montana's band chanting during free throws, "you will not make this shot. You will not make this shot." It was pretty straight forward, but it was effective.

The Tournament Anthem

Finally, the tournament has such amazing drama. In person I have gotten to see so many amazing players that have gone on to the NBA, but perhaps more importantly I've seen players that made it to the NCAA. For most athletes, this is their "shining moment." They aren't going to play on a bigger stage than the NCAA Tournament, and frankly, I think it's perhaps the pinnacle of college athletics. For fans at home, you don't see the full storyline with maybe a player's face cutout among the collage of other teams and players that make the cover of Sports Illustrated's annual tournament issue or you see a quick clip of players crying or celebrating in the Tournament's recap during "One Shining Moment." However, you don't see Channing Frye's jubilant mother decked out in Wildcats gear on the plane, debate brackets with Paul Davis's father, shed a tear with a Western Kentucky player's family crying in the hotel elevator as you both return to your respective rooms, listen as the public address announcer becomes a broken record repeating "Craig Smith with the basket" as he puts up a ridiculous number of points, and you certainly don't watch Kennedy Winston leading the Alabama band as flash bulbs strobe after knocking off number one seed Stanford. You begin to understand that this is more than a sporting event. You understand the time, effort, and love families have committed to sending their children to college and teaching them the game of basketball. You begin to realize the joy basketball brings whole towns and communities that come together around their team.

I've been incredibly lucky to be able to have these experiences over the last eight years, and I strongly recommend you look into doing it yourself if possible. I'm very bummed that I won't be able to do it this year in person, but I am excited that the first and second rounds are in Tulsa next year (I'll be there)! The mixture of family, sport, drama, sadness, joy, and local culture make it an unforgettable experience every year. I can't wait to do it again in 2011. And who knows, maybe the Ducks will make an appearance.