COLUMN: We can all appreciate a good Cinderella story
Who doesn’t love a Cinderella story?
No, not the girl who talks to mice and birds and is rescinded to doing her step-sisters chores while dreaming of her chance to dance with the prince at the ball.
I’m talking the likes of universities such as Florida Gulf Coast, La Salle and Harvard.
Let’s face the facts: As stubborn and devoted as we are to the success of our brackets -and rightfully so with the amount of effort some of us put into them – we’re never going to pick a perfect bracket. You’re not going to remember how many points your bracket scored in your office pool.
You will remember however, the teams that busted your brackets.
I had Georgetown and New Mexico to the Elite Eight, but along came FGCU and Harvard to deliver the KO’s in the round of 64 and send me and millions of other people to the fridge for comfort foods.
Except that didn’t really happen.
As angry as I could have been and perhaps should have been at the gigantic blows to my bracket, I couldn’t help but enjoy it.
Why? Because everyone loves Cinderella.
And why shouldn’t they? What better euphoria is there in sports than David slaying Goliath? La Salle is the second team to reach the Sweet 16 from the First Four. Harvard picked up its first NCAA tournament win in school history.
And a whopping 591 days after achieving Division 1 status, the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast are soaring higher – literally – than anyone else in the tournament as the first 15-seed to make the Sweet 16.
They’ve become America’s sweetheart overnight.
FGCU is just plain fun to watch. Their fast-paced tempo and alley-oop style keeps fans on their feet, and the energy within the arena is nearly palpable through the television from hundreds of miles away.
Go watch their post-game celebrations after their wins and tell me you’re not amped up. They’re in a no-lose situation too. They lose, no one thinks any the lesser of them. They’ve already beaten the odds, slayed the giant and made their mark.
They win, they dance on and continue to deepen their mark on history.
Because let’s face it, 5-plus years from now, plenty of people will remember who won the national title, but a myriad more will remember the Eagles. I dare say just as many will remember the likes of La Salle and Harvard’s upsets as will recall the title winner.
Think back over the past decade of tournaments: Can you name the winners? Some will be more than able to, but for most, the moments from the past 10 years that stand out above all others can be counted on one hand: George Mason, VCU, Butler.
These are the Cinderellas. The “blue-bloods” like Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina are the ugly step-sisters. The selection committee is the stepmother, and we are the birds and the mice that, for reasons beyond explanation and control, are drawn to Cinderella and thrive on her success.
– Curtis Lundstrom is a proud husband and father and aspiring sports journalist and referee. A junior in print journalism, his life ambition is to bowl a perfect 300 and pick a perfect NCAA bracket. Send any comments to curtislundstrom@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: @CurtisLundstrom