Life and Basketball

It’s official. Today in our house the madness begins. It is the time of year when we lose all sense of time, and we plan our lives around basketball. It is March Madness time, and when it comes to College Basketball, our home takes on a very different flavor.

I have been a fan of College Basketball for about 25 years. In the years prior to that my idea of a great basketball game was watching Julius Irving playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. I enjoyed the on court style of Walt “Clyde” Frazier, the quickness of Henry Bibby (the senior not the junior), or the battles between Bill Russell and Wilt “the stilt” Chamberlain. In those days the professional game was my first love. But, I can remember when I began to love college basketball. It was the game between NC State and the University of Houston Cougars.

Every basketball fan knows that NC State, headed by their coach Jim Valvano, won the NCAA championship in 1983. Every weekend over the next three weeks you will see a replay of the end of the game between Houston and NC State. I watched that game and can remember the excitement. That year I was rooting for Houston, and the famed “Phi Slamma Jamma” team headed up by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde “the glide” Drexler. The team was ranked number one heading into the tournament and the “smart money” knew that this was the team that was going to win the National Championship. Sometimes the smart money is not so smart.

Houston played Louisville in the semi-final game. The Houston team was known for its breathtaking quickness and leaping ability. Led by its two superstars, this team was fun to watch. A sure bet to win against Louisville. They not only won this game, but did so in convincing style with incredible acrobatic displays of dunks by Drexler and Olajuwon. In the other semi-final game, NC State played in almost pedestrian style, beating their opponent, the Georgia Bulldogs.

With the NC State and Houston victories in the semi-finals, the National Championship game was set. This was almost a David against Goliath scenario. NC State was coming off of a lackluster season during which they lost ten games. Their winning performances in the tournament included a double overtime victory and a win by just one point in the Regional Final. One writer is known to have commented that the championship game would be the Varsity team against the Junior Varsity team.

In sports and in life the race does not always go to the swiftest. NC State used a tight defense to shut down Houston’s most valuable weapon which was speed, and high flying dunks. Valvano coached an otherwise unremarkable group of young men (they had acquired the nickname “the cardiac pack” because of their narrow victories) to perform at the peak of their abilities. They developed a strategy to slow down the game that Houston had depended on.

This game had all of the drama that the NCAA tournament is known for. But in the end, a little known sophomore named Lorenzo Charles would become the hero. After battling all night with the taller and more powerful Olajuwon, it was Lorenzo Charles whose quick reflexes and ball sense caused him to react to a missed thirty foot shot to make a dunk in the final seconds winning the game 54 – 52.

We use sports as a metaphor for so many things in life. I find myself constantly making references to those metaphors over and over again. Usually we devote our attention to the professionals. Those that have talent beyond mere mortals like us. Men and women that have built careers based on their natural gifts and abilities. We admire their rock star status and read stories about their fame and fortune. But the college game is different. The men and women playing in the NCAA Tournament are mostly playing for their love of their game. This year, those that are seniors will probably play their last game in front of a large audience. They will graduate from college, and begin otherwise less glamorous lives. They will join the ranks of the professional working world, and just like you and me begin to live an ordinary existence.

I watch the NCAA tournament with my children. We talk often during the games about the thrill of being able to play on a national stage, displaying the very best that you can do. Being Pittsburgh fans, our team has lost each year in the “Sweet Sixteen.” But every year as we watch the tournament we learn lessons of overcoming the odds. We hear the stories of the kid that never should have made it. We see profiles of outstanding student athletes that teach us all that there are plenty of decent and smart athletes in the world of sports. And we also go through the heartbreak when our favored teams lose a game.

Perhaps you are not a sports fan as you read this. Maybe you don’t agree with my feelings about the thrill of college basketball. You might even be too busy to watch some of the 90 different games that will be aired just this week. That is understandable. But if you can get a minute, take some time out to watch a game this week. Watching these games you regain your sense of hope for our younger generation. Sure, some don’t act properly, and there are still too many jerks in sports. But if you can watch the games you will see parents in the stands. You will hear stories of young men and women overcoming adversity. And if you pay close attention, you will see diversity that goes beyond what we talk about in boardrooms. You will see the human spirit rise and fall with wins and losses.

My children mark the years with me watching the NCAA Tournament. We share many memories of tournaments past. Yes, there still are not many good reasons to watch TV, but for the next three weeks, my eyes will be on the tube, watching the game. It will be family time like none other, and maybe just maybe this year our team will go just a little bit farther than last year.

Maybe it is true that basketball is not an appropriate metaphor for life. Maybe we devote too much attention to sports and athletes in this country. Maybe athletes should not be role models. I agree with all of these. But when I watch the tournament I see a different picture. I see examples of group leadership. I see team building in the coaches and players. I see people doing their very best, win or lose. I watch the college game with my children, and I know that we learn something new every year. It's not about life, it's just about basketball, and we love it.