Tuesday Thinking by YoTrip for 3/29/11, March Madness Always Brings Cinderella to the Dance (Vol.1, Iss.2)
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March Madness Always Brings Cinderella to the Dance
The month of March is a great time of transition, the time changes, the weather changes, and the college basketball tournament changes teams from challengers to champions. This time of the year ushers in the period known as “March Madness”. 64 teams that are invited to the NCAA tournament “big dance” play in win or go home style competition with hopes of making it to the coveted “final four” and onto becoming a champion for the season. In recent years the excitement around “March Madness” has been geared to what team will rise from the bottom to become the “Cinderella” of the big dance.
Interestingly enough, the term March Madness has been around to describe basketball tournaments since 1939. However, it initially described the Illinois State High School tournament, not the NCAA tournament. Over the years, it has become associated with the NCAA tournament to the point where it overshadows its true roots. http://www.basketball.org/march-madness-history/
The four teams that have risen from the pack of 64, University of Kentucky (Wildcats), University of Connecticut (Huskies), Butler University(Bulldogs) and Virginia Commonwealth College-VCC (Rams). This years final four teams brings together two teams who combine for nine former NCAA championships Wildcats own seven and the Huskies have two in their rafters. Butler is a team that was known as the Cinderella of 2010 after making it to the finals and losing by a few points to the powerhouse Duke Blue Devils.
The Cinderella and darling of the dance for this year is Virginia Commonwealth College. This team was rated a 350-1 chance of winning the championship at the start of the tournament, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, 42nd among the 68 teams in the field. The Rams’ chances of winning their first five games — all as underdogs — were 1,371-1, according to Pregame.com. This Cinderella team seems to thrive off of what the naysayers will offer and continue to play excellent basketball to stun the top-seeded University of Kansas 71-61 in the Southwest Regional final.
As the Cinderella of the 2011 NCAA tournament and Final Four VCC is joining the ranks of some teams that made basketball fan sit up and take notice: Gonzaga in 1999, Kent State in 2002, George Mason in 2006 and of course Butler in 2010. Each of these teams were unknown in the major rankings of college powerhouses, but played with heart and determination to take their place on the center stage and go from a pumpkin to a prince.
The excitement of March Madness takes the game of college basketball fans on a journey that is filled with highs, lows, tragedy and triumphs all in the name of becoming a championship team. Just when you think the floor is set and the game begins you are glued to the television because top seeds are bowing out early in defeat and the lower seeds and Cinderella’s are left standing strong and taking the last dance.
All the best to the Final Four: Kentucky, UConn, Butler, and especially the 2011 Cinderella VCC let the Madness of March continue until the victory is won!
Related Articles
- You: March Madness NCAA Tournament Final Four – Basketball (sportsviews.com)
- March Madness Bracket 2011: With VCU vs. Butler, Is It One Too Many Cinderellas? (bleacherreport.com)
- VCU Rams Basketball: Cinderella Heading to NCAA Final Four (bleacherreport.com)
- NCAA Tournament: A Complete Redefinition of Madness (bleacherreport.com)
- Butler Basketball: Cinderella Returning to the Final Four (bleacherreport.com)
- Obama’s March Madness (nader.org)
