1/2 shining moment
so, last night was the national championship of ncaa men's basketball. ucla and florida were pitted in a matchup of non-historic proportions. the famous fathers of the florida gator players provided a more compelling storyline than did the team, itself. likewise, the stellar ucla alumni in the audience created more excitement than the actual bruins. such is life. no matter how i love college basketball, i couldn't compel myself to stay awake much past halftime. the main reason is that i am old, and i had to awaken at 5 in the morning; the other reason is that i could smell a rout, and in a game of relative unknowns about whom i have little interest, this provided no late-night incentive.
there was a time when i missed almost no part of the tournament. i would skip school, stay up late for the highlights, and find any way possible to see game footage and written descriptions of all things ncaa tournament. i knew the first 7 or 8 players on all the major teams, and could tell you something about nearly every team in the tournament that had any chance whatsoever of making the final weekend. those days are long past. shoot, i didn't even fill out a bracket this year.
it isn't that i don't care. the tournament still provides some of the most riveting contests of any sport going today. i just have too many other things occupying my mind, now.
there are alot of years of my life that i remember based on who won the tournament in that given year. i could rattle off the champs from '76-'93 without skipping a beat (actually i could go back to the early sixties. prior to iu in '76, you had ucla forever with a nc state and a texas western thrown in for variety.) those were the years ('76-'93) ranging from when i became aware until i got married. not that i blame my loss of watching time and interest on my lovely wife. well, not exactly. it's just that at some point around '93 or '4 it became less important to watch college hoop all week long for 4 months. perhaps this is one way that i can see some semblance of having begun to grow up. well, it's either that or another on the list of things i love which have been arbitrarily cast aside. same thing i guess. it's just a matter of how you want to look at it. i prefer the former.
besides, there's always next year.
p.s. the unlv runnin' rebels from 1989-1991 are still the best team i have ever seen.
there was a time when i missed almost no part of the tournament. i would skip school, stay up late for the highlights, and find any way possible to see game footage and written descriptions of all things ncaa tournament. i knew the first 7 or 8 players on all the major teams, and could tell you something about nearly every team in the tournament that had any chance whatsoever of making the final weekend. those days are long past. shoot, i didn't even fill out a bracket this year.
it isn't that i don't care. the tournament still provides some of the most riveting contests of any sport going today. i just have too many other things occupying my mind, now.
there are alot of years of my life that i remember based on who won the tournament in that given year. i could rattle off the champs from '76-'93 without skipping a beat (actually i could go back to the early sixties. prior to iu in '76, you had ucla forever with a nc state and a texas western thrown in for variety.) those were the years ('76-'93) ranging from when i became aware until i got married. not that i blame my loss of watching time and interest on my lovely wife. well, not exactly. it's just that at some point around '93 or '4 it became less important to watch college hoop all week long for 4 months. perhaps this is one way that i can see some semblance of having begun to grow up. well, it's either that or another on the list of things i love which have been arbitrarily cast aside. same thing i guess. it's just a matter of how you want to look at it. i prefer the former.
besides, there's always next year.
p.s. the unlv runnin' rebels from 1989-1991 are still the best team i have ever seen.
posted by cm at 4/04/2006
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