This column was published in USA Today on March 21, 2006.
In this country, our sports reveal a lot about our national DNA. The Super Bowl celebrates our excesses in both advertising spending and chip-and-dip eating. Baseball reminds us of our history, basketball of our ability to create. NASCAR, the latest darling of sport, illustrates our obsession with speed and plays to our affinity for individualism. Even the sport we famously do not care for – soccer – reveals our character. What full-blooded American would voluntarily pursue a goal for an hour and a half with the possibility that either nothing happens or it all ends in a tie? We much prefer the measurable yard-by-yard progress of the gridiron.
All other sports have their allure, but it is the NCAA tournament – three weeks of college basketball madness – that goes to the very heart of what it means to be Americans. The rules are simple – win and move on, lose and go home. There are no home-court advantages. There are no byes. All teams are equal, and on this level playing field, each team controls its own destiny.
In this way, the tournament mimics the American dream of upward social mobility. The quintessential American tale is one of the underdog overcoming obstacles to capture glory – the immigrant striking it rich in the big city, the unknown boxer defeating the unbeatable champion, the maidservant ending up with the prince. And this is the very story the NCAA tournament gives us year after year. We are a Cinderella Nation.
The teams making it to the next round of games are representative of the American dream: that hard work and a little luck can lift anyone to success. Just ask long shot Northwestern State, which broke the heart of highly rated Iowa with a three-pointer at the buzzer, only to have its own dream dashed in the next game by West Virginia. Or George Mason, which toppled the mighty North Carolina Tar Heels, winner of last year’s tournament, to earn a spot in the Sweet 16.
Of course, the tournament, like the dream, is not as fair as it at first seems. While there are no actual home-court advantages, it would be naïve to think that having the University of Texas play its first two games in Dallas was not an advantage. And while every team, regardless of seed, can theoretically win the whole tournament, history has shown that it is the top seeds that usually do. Still, some of the most memorable tournaments were those won by huge underdogs, such as NC State in 1983 or Villanova in 1985, but the norm is for a top-seed such as Duke to cut down the nets. No 16-seed has ever won a game, but be assured that when it happens, it will be the greatest Cinderella tale of all.
The chances of a low-seeded team winning the championship are miniscule – in fact, one odds-maker set Oral Roberts’ odds at 5-sextillion-to-1 before their first round defeat by top-seed Memphis. The chances of such teams even surviving the first weekend are slim. In fact, of the 16 teams remaining, only four are seeded worse than 6th.
So it is with American life. Cinderella is the exception rather than the rule. Even so, overcoming odds and refusing to allow history to dictate destiny is what dreams are all about. For whatever the likely outcome, the truth is that as of this moment, 13th-seed Bradley must win as many games as top-seed Connecticut to lift the trophy as champion on April 3.
It is this dream that makes the tournament what it is. It is this dream that makes us who we are.
3 comments:
Good read. I never looked at the tournament in this light but it is a good comparison. We are a Cinderella nation and probably the only one in the world . I believe this is what draws the waves of immigrants, legal and illegal to this country. It also influences some of the hate that many of these people foster for our country. When they are unwilling to make the sacrifices needed to achieve the dreams. Because so many do not realize that it takes more than a dream to achieve. Congratulations on you article.
This is AWESOME, though not surprising. Congrats. One question though, and I'm sure you'll get this a lot, how come it says you're pulling for UT...aren't you pulling for Duke?
You are correct, this dream occurs in many sports, but, for whatever reason, the NCAA basketball tournament has become an integral part of our population’s psyche. People that are not interested in college basketball the rest of the year fill out their draws and bet in the office pool. They follow the games closely and are exhilarated when their team wins and crushed if their team loses.
The last time I saw this much fervor was during my college days in 1969 when the military draft lottery was held on national TV. Everyone I knew attended a draft lottery party. Nobody had control over anything. Your birthday for the year was your betting number. Guys got drunk because they were happy that they received a high number. Guys got drunk because they were unhappy to have received a low number. ROTC guys partied because they were going to the military soon and wasn’t that a good reason to party. Even though the draft was only for males, every college girl knew her draft number. They partied because they received a low number and could have been drafted if they were a male. They partied because they received a high number and would have been saved from the draft. They identified with the boys and partied all night long. Life was good, but, that was only one night. Isn’t America great? We have expanded our partying to three weeks and nobody gets drafted.
Post a Comment