“I would hope you would support who we are. Not, who we are not.” — Coach Norman Dale, from the movie “Hoosiers.”
With all the prattle I’ve heard the past week on the radio about we’re not going to see the best team in the nation win the NCAA (men’s) national tournament championship and no one cares about THIS Final Four, I was reminded of Coach Norman Dale’s speech before the student body at a pep rally to start the basketball season. The school’s best player wasn’t out to start the season for various reasons, this new “older” coach with his fundamental basketball ideas, there was no way this team of six was going anywhere.
The students chanted for the player that wasn’t out there. Later, Jimmy came back to the team only if the new coach stayed.
That little Indiana high school in Hickory and it’s improbable run to the Indiana state high school championship has been a great UNDERDOG story.
What is it that draws people to the NCAA basketball tournament? Of course there are the millions of fans of the respective schools’ teams and just the basketball fans in general.
But admit it we also watch to see the underdogs have a chance to go all the way. That’s why games are played.
Take for instance, Iola High’s Fillies against the Labette County High Grizzlies in February. Labette County comes in undefeated in Southeast Kansas League play, on a big win streak. Were the Fillies supposed to just let the Grizzlies have the game? The game was played and the Fillies handed it to the Grizzlies.
So what if most of the “BIG DOGS” are not in the Final Four in 2011. The players on VCU, Butler, Kentucky and UConn worked just as hard all season as say the guys from Duke, Kansas, Pittsburgh, North Carolina and yes, even Kansas State. They played the games that got them to the semifinals of the championship tournament.
There are no givens in life or in sports. You have to earn it. Not to be flip because everyone knows my allegiance to K-State, but the Jayhawks did not earn the right to be in the Final Four. They didn’t play up to their potential against a team that peaked at the right time — five straight wins in the tournament. VCU went from First Four to Final Four.
So if I’m around a television Saturday, I’ll do a little watching. It’s college basketball and can’t help but enjoy it.
Did you know that one out of about three million submissions in the Yahoo! Tourney Pick’Em had these men’s Final Four teams? Found this out Thursday as I was getting on to check my e-mail.
Diana Inch, a librarian at Jefferson High School outside of Salem, Ore., predicted VCU’s Rams, Butler Bulldogs, UConn Huskies and the Kentucky Wildcats would prevail. She has the Huskies winning over the Bulldogs in the championship game.
According to the interview, Inch uses a system to do with the numbers 7 and 11 and dogs and cats, four-legged animals. Whatever it was, it worked for her so far.
