I love March Madness. I love March Madness a lot. I love spending days, nay weeks watching excellent basketball being played. I have the teams I root for every year, like Xavier and Gonzaga, and the teams that I root against every year, like Duke and Kentucky (who I hate...).
This year the tournament means a lot to me though. The BYU Cougars (who also happen to be THE team for me) made it past the first round. This hasn't happened in the last 17 years. There are a lot of excited fans around campus as of late, and to tell you the truth I am proud. I am proud of the fact that the Cougar's pulled out of a double over-time, nail biting game to win 99-92.
I am also proud of some lower ranking seeds for pulling through. Teams like Ohio(14) who beat out Georgetown(3) and Murray State(13) who beat out Vanderbilt(4). Granted this did no help for the brackets that I filled out, but I am still proud to see some lesser known teams making names for themselves in this years tournament.
That is what this tournament is all about. Having the chance to come from nothing (a lesser valued school) and make a place for yourself among the elite. I have heard and read many reviews this year, (and while the tournament is still not over and none of us are sure of the outcome yet) some of the teams that are not known well, or who have yet to make a name for themselves were ripped on pretty bad. And I think it is awesome that they aren't standing down. No matter what the reviews say, they are still playing well, and still winning games.
This is why I love the game of basketball.
