Note: My bracket has been completely and utterly busted. I had Duke in the Finals against North Carolina but they couldn't seem to defeat Lehigh. Yup, their opponents were clearly HIGH. Darn, just got to love the upsets.
You just got to love the surprises March Madness has to offer. You literally start with a clean slate. Five straight wins before you can crown yourselves National Champions. Sounds easy? It isn't. Entering the tournament, everybody has high hopes and expectations for their respective teams only to find out two hours later that they've lost to a relatively unknown school. (That has to be the case. Who in the world has heard of the school Lehigh? I think the word 'high' is more known and associated with drugs. Probably all the players took or injected some before the Duke game. You'll never know.) That's what people love about March Madness--- its unpredictability and feel good Cinderella stories.
I'm never been a big fan of upsets and cinderella stories for the sole purpose that it looks ugly come the next game and in some instances the National Championship game. (Note: Butler - UConn. Seriously?) Underdogs only do it one game---not multiple. Why punish the stronger team for one off-game? Come to think about it, the organizers will earn more if they had stronger teams in the Final Four but they'll rather ride on the Cinderella story bandwagon.
Amidst all the excitement and unpredictability March Madness brings, I haven't really bought into the fact that 'weak' teams could actually contend for a National Championship. Instead of hearing North Carolina, Duke, UK, or Ohio State, you would be hearing Butler, Michigan, Lehigh, among many others.
You have to be kidding me...
If we are to relate March Madness to life, it'd be pretty much the same. In life, the stronger always get ranked higher and they enjoy certain privileges but that doesn't guarantee a great run in life. Come to think about it, the higher ranked teams in the tournament feel immense pressure to deliver a beating on these low-ranked teams. Why? Because they are unheard off and in the eyes of millions of people, they don't deserve it. In the minds of many, why can't the NCAA Board just come up with a strong field of 16 teams, similar to that of the NBA Playoffs, to contend for the National Championship in a best-of-seven series? (They should look into this... Seriously)
Life isn't about getting numerous chances to succeed. It's about making the most out of these opportunities and living in the moment. If you played poorly, you will just have to find a way to get that W. If you were tired, you would have to find a way to channel your second wind---adrenaline. Live life with no excuses.
Can we do anything to change the system? No. Can we change the teams? No. We have no control over what happens in that tournament. (I bet no one has a perfect bracket now.) All we have to do is sit back and enjoy what ever happens. We would just have to accept whatever happens and live with it.
I think the concept of March Madness was patterned similarly to life--- it's not fair! You would just have to seize that opportunity and pray that everything goes your way. In our journey towards perfection, we understand it isn't possible, but as we continue to work hard, we'd be touching greatness and excellence and that's where we want to be.
Expect an 'ugly' and 'atrocious' tournament with all the upsets but through these upsets, we come to realize that life isn't always about being the person, or team in that matter, who starts out the strongest but who finishes the strongest.
I still got North Carolina for the Championship... Book It!
Why won't they do it similar to how they do the NCAA Football Championships with different 'championship' games? Fair enough...
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