MARCH MADNESS 2010
I’m too wrapped-up in the NCAA Tournament to be able to concentrate on writing about anything else today. All I can tell you so far is that the first day of it was really exciting. Many games came down to the wire (it seemed like most of them to me, but that’s because they always switch over to the exciting endings,) and there were several overtimes, including one double OT.
For those fans of the NBA, who don’t bother with college ball, you’re really missing out. Where do you think most of the future NBA stars come from? And even the kids who don’t go pro play their hearts out. It’s great to see guys who play for the love of the game, knowing that this will be it for their basketball careers, rather than to show their skills off for the riches of the bigs.
I think my favorite player of the tournament so far is Omar Samhan from St. Mary’s. (The school is located in Moraga, CA, near San Francisco.) At the beginning of their game against Richmond, my attention had begun to wane a speck. Buy I couldn’t believe how many times the commentators invoked his name, so I stared paying attention again. He was amazing! He had 29 points and 12 rebounds, even though he sat on the bench for over 12 minutes due to foul trouble! (They even played an old song called Mr. Sandman to laud the guy. Clever.)
I’m probably the only person in the country who watches EVERY SECOND of the tournament; not speeding through (except for commercials, if I get behind from re-watching certain plays,) taking a nap or quitting early. (It took me over 15 hours to get through it all yesterday.)
We used to have real satellite, not these little ones that everyone has now–I mean the kind they have in sports bars. (They phased them out for home use a few years ago because there were hardly any of us who were technologically advanced enough to own then.) That was perfect for March Madness because we got to see full games from every region of the country, not just what CBS gave us to watch in Los Angeles. I got to be own director, having picture-in-picture and other multiple-games-at-one-time devices, and I gave the most attention to whichever game was the most interesting. That was pure heaven for me! I was like a mad scientist for the duration.
But now I’m come to accept their basic coverage. I just wish they’d switch to the exciting endings a little sooner than they do. I’d like to see at least a couple of minutes of those close games, and not just 9.9 seconds!
Okay, I’ve gotta go watch Day 2. Even without my beloved UCLA being in the 2010 tourney, I can’t wait to see what today brings.