Trav's Thoughts

There are some basketball pronouncers that I enjoy. They all use the typical sports cliches to describe the action, but some do it with a bit more honesty and a lot less live-or-die seriousness.

Jay Bilas is one I enjoy. During the game this morning between #6 seed UCLA and #3 seed Villanova, Mr Bilas said something with which I have to agree. He said that a team's performance in the tournament doesn't validate or invalidate its inclusion in the field of 64.

Many said Arizona didn't belong. And then when they beat Utah, many said that they must belong after all. But if that's so, then by the same logic every team that won in the first 2 days belongs, and every team that lost didn't belong.

There were 31 teams that gained an automatic bid by winning conference tournaments and 33 that got in with at large invitations. Or 34 if you count the play in game, which I don't. According to the RPI ratings, there are 343 college basketball programs. Only 64 of them are going to have the opportunity to play for a national championship. Realistically, there are only about 8-10 of those teams that have a shot at winning the tournament.

And only one team is going to cut down the nets as the national champion.

This tournament is about opportunity. It's about Cleveland State seizing the opportunity to beat Wake Forest. It's about rooting for the underdog, and hoping that underdog isn't putting the screws to your favorite team.

This tournament is about dreaming that the match ups are in your favor, and the other team's best player maybe has an off shooting day, and a break or two goes your way...and you find yourself upsetting a higher seed.

And this tournament is about the reality and the finality of a college athlete's career. Because when the match ups are not in your favor, and the other team's best player is an All America who performs to his potential, and the breaks go against you...you find yourself as a senior who has just played in his final game. And you can't remember your achievements over the last four years because the only thing in front of you in that moment is that it's finished.

It truly is about the opportunity. And if you get the opportunity, whether people think you deserve it or not, it's what you do with it that matters.

And since only one of the 64 teams is going home as a winner, you take the opportunity and make your moment.

That's why I love this tournament.

One Shining Moment
by David Barrett

The ball is tipped
and there you are
you're running for your life
you're a shooting star
And all the years
no one knows
just how hard you worked
but now it shows...
(in) ONE SHINING MOMENT, IT'S ALL ON THE LINE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, THERE FROZEN IN TIME

But time is short
and the road is long
in the blinking of an eye
ah that moment's gone
And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...
(that) ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED DEEP INSIDE
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW YOU WERE ALIVE

Feel the beat of your heart
feel the wind in your face
it's more than a contest
it's more than a race...

And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...
(that) ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU REACHED FOR THE SKY
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU KNEW
ONE SHINING MOMENT, YOU WERE WILLING TO TRY
ONE SHINING MOMENT....