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Brackets Are the Fun Part of March Madness
By Randy Gardner
How many of you do the March Madness College basketball bracket? I bet most of you said yes. If you said no, give it at try next year and you will love it. It doesn’t really matter how you pick your brackets, nobody has it down to a science. Just ask anyone who has a bracket this year. One upset in the first round can end it for you. I guarantee that they are torn to pieces over some of the big upsets in the early rounds.
It just wasn’t one game, it was several on both sides of the brackets.
That is what makes this so fun. It creates heroes out of the ordinary players and teams. It is the true sense of the Cinderella story. I always route for the underdog anyway.
It is interesting to dig in and learn about the players who come up big in these games. They say they have dreamed about this since a kid and have practiced that shot that they made thousands of times in an empty gym by themselves dreaming of this moment.
That is why the Sweet 16 teams here are something you should try and watch even if you don’t like basketball. It’s about more than basketball. It’s about the players behind the game and the coaches behind the players and teams. Give it a shot. If you don’t have a bracket start now and pick the winners from the final 16. One hint: this year the Sweet 16 are all from major conferences, with the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 having most of the slots.
I talked about playing in the yard or on the court with your friends when you were young. How many times did you do the countdown to the final play and you won with the score? Whether it was the final pass for a touchdown or a buzzer-beating shot, I think if you close your eyes you can remember yourself as a child doing this. Do kids do this anymore in this day and age or is it done in front of a video game? It is usually something that never comes true but for a select few it can be a culmination of a childhood dream. These are the scenarios that every champion talks about when they reflect on their childhood experiences.
So for those coaches and parents who talk about winning doesn’t matter, it does. Winning breeds winning in sports and in life. If a child consistently loses in sporting games, races on the playground or in the classroom, you can’t tell me that doesn’t carry over into life in some way, shape or fashion.
If a kid gives a great effort and loses that is one thing but I hear parents say they don’t want their kid to be challenged by playing anything but recreational sports. What are you teaching them? That it is okay to not be challenged in life? Life doesn’t work that way, which is why there are different levels of success in this world.
If you really look into it, I bet most successful people were really challenged as youngsters whether it was in academics or athletics. They learned how to overcome situations and work their way through it and often come out on top. Really stop and think about the statement, “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose.” I think it does!
