The Observer, March 25, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 22
March Madness has just not been mad enough
Besides the rare occasions in which a Cleveland team plays in the postseason, the NCAA Tournament is without a doubt my favorite sporting event of the year. The opening weekend is usually full of exciting match-ups featuring players and teams taking their game to new heights. If not for the inconveniences of class and good hygienic practices, every waking hour from noon on Thursday until Sunday's 60 Minutes could be filled with college basketball. The buzzer beaters, emotions, upsets, and unbridled enthusiasm of the tournament are what make March Madness so great. Or at least, they usually do. Perhaps my expectations are too high, but this year's opening weekend was a disappointment.
Don't get me wrong – the past weekend was not without its merits. The Wake Forest/West Virginia game on Saturday night was one of the best I've seen. A double-overtime contest between a team that some said could be national champions and a team that needed a couple victories in their conference tournament just to make the Big Dance is tough to beat. Throw in some unlikely three-pointers that sent the game into the extra periods and, in the end, a hometown hero, native Clevelander and Mountaineer guard Mike Gansey, and this game has "instant classic" written all over it.
Beyond that game, we were treated to Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Cinderella ride into the Sweet Sixteen and upsets by little-schools-that-could Bucknell and Vermont. The only "chill scene" so far for me, however, was the image of longtime Vermont coach Tom Brennan triumphantly raising his fists after a long Catamount three that sealed his team's overtime win against Syracuse. Brennan looked skyward as if to say, "My God, it's actually happening!" For whatever reason, it reminded me of Herb Brooks' reaction to the Miracle on Ice. But besides that clip, Milwaukee's Ed McCants stroking a three, and something with Gansey scoring a couple of his 19 overtime points, I'm just not sure we have much footage for "One Shining Moment" yet.
Too often last weekend I sat watching my television waiting for someone to step up and win a game, be it a big-name player on a traditional powerhouse or some unknown stepping into the spotlight and claiming his 15 minutes of fame. I kept waiting for an underdog to do the unexpected and pull off an upset, but for all of Thursday and much of Friday, that was much like waiting for a Cleveland Cavaliers defensive stop in the waning minutes of a close game. Friday night and Saturday night offered some repose, but by Sunday afternoon, it was more of the same. In fact, before 60 Minutes, we were treated to the double whammy of Duke pulling away from Mississippi State and the Cavaliers allowing Jalen Rose to ice a Toronto Raptors win.
The Cavs are trying to start anew with a new head coach this week, and luckily for college basketball fans, we get a fresh installment of games this weekend. Hopefully these contests will provide more memorable performances.
