March Madness finally begins!

3/16/05

I'm sitting here camped in front of the boob tube watching the last part of Gonzaga Coach Mark Few's press conference getting ready for the yearly display of the most pure form of Basketball left on this planet. Sorry, the NBA lost that title many years ago. Let me put it this way, I share the same view as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett did following his rookie season: "They're (the NBA veterans at the time) a bunch of old guys that foul a lot." Let's face it, not much has changed over the years.

Anyways, what is the draw to the NCAA tournament for fans from all walks of life?


There is no form of spectator sports on the planet that can replace the level of competition that comes from vying for a Championship like the NHL playoffs, the World Cup, the Super Bowl (minus the terminally putrid pre-game and half time shows), the Memorial Cup, MLB playoffs, the list goes on and on.




I'm now watching a pro UW preview of the UW/Montana where the starting center of the Grizzlies re-injured his sprained ankle during practice. Of course this was all following a load of shit talking from the Grizzlies aimed towards UW (“Mmmm Karma” as Homer Simpson might say).





As I attended the University of Washington many moons ago (ok attended is a very loose term...remember kids 'Don't let School get in the way of College'!) during the Don James era of UW Football we had lots to cheer about. Seeing sites, in person, like two thirds of a capacity Rose Bowl crowd wearing purple and/or gold on a consistent basis and road trips to away games as far away as Stanford or Berkley simply because we knew the Dawgs (as we so affectionately call the UW) were more than likely going to win. It wasn't an ego thing it was more of a sense of confidence in the talents and abilities of the given team that the UW put on a playing field. As a long time UW fan we haven't had that feeling in Men's basketball for quite some time.

Even aside from the UW I’ve personally witnessed championship atmospheres from many different vantage points like driving to and from my Home (at the time) in Seattle to Vancouver B.C. to attend Playoff Home games of the NHL Vancouver Canucks (that's drive to Vancouver and from Seattle for every single game...no overnight or extended stays).

Another example would be watching World Cup (When France hosted the World Cup) games in Austria, England, Holland, and Germany. Now when I say watch games, I watch from a fan prospective.

In Innsbruck, Austria there was a HUGE big screen TV set up in the center of town (by the river) where fans from all around would watch every single game. Even though Austria didn't field a team in this World Cup, the passion for Championship games was on display for every game.

In Holland, I witnessed Amsterdam turn from a Ghost Town (no joke...not even the legendary pick pockets and theifs were around in the city) when their team played to the biggest party I have ever seen in my life after a Holland victory.

Anyways, Having a Men’s Basketball team that has a chance to win it all is a new tradition for us UW fans especially since the UW football program was sent on a one way trip into the stone age (thanks to the ineptitude of the now former head of the UW athletic department) everyone in UW-town finally has got a team to stick by and cheer about damnit! We haven’t seen a team this good since former NBA player Detlef Schrempf played under then UW coach Marv Harshman.

Other than cheering for the UW, I'm just a fan of great championship games where not only the best 64 teams actually come out on top but the officials aren’t the third team on the playing surface (::cough:: NHL Playoffs ::cough::). This is probably the best all around championships that serious sports fans can get their competitive fixes.

Come to think of it these Championship series may be a temporary solution to all you NHL fans who are, by now either in a fetal position or going through serious withdrawals following the cancellation of the 2004-2005 NHL Regular Season.

To me, the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament is a Championship where the numerical ranking of teams does not always apply. As I believe actor and NCAA fan Billy Bob Thornton stated in an NCAA tournament special not too long ago, this is a tournament where a proverbial David can actually slay Goliath on a potentially consistent basis.

By now the last teams of the countless NCAA Basketball Championship bar and office pools are being finalized the excuses to miss work to watch the tournament games are now being polished before final presentation and the final bets are being made in Vegas. I personally need to finalize my TV times for this week to check out as much of the action as possible.

So as I am anxiously awaiting the UW band to chime out 'Tequila', which is the REAL UW fight song and pre-game beverage (Damn, I need to head to the Liquor Store!) I'm really looking forward to the ever lasting memories that are about to take place in this tournament.