March Madness

Any player who says they aren't nervous is lying. You are minutes away from stepping onto the court in front of thousands of fans and unless you are a top 4 seed the majority won't be yours. You know millions more are watching at home thanks partly to the spirit of the tourney and mostly to vegas. Since the selection friends, family, and alumni have been coming out of the woodworks to let you know they will be watching which is really to say don't let them down.

Before the game, coach gives a pregame talk but you aren't listening. You have heard it all before and none of it matters. Not now. Now it is about you and your brothers whom you have battled with since 6am conditionings in August. Through 2 a days, 3 a days, winning streaks, losing streaks, empty home games, 8 hour bus rides, and coach's bullshit. Somehow you managed to stay together, connected to a collective vision bigger than any one man. Through it all you kept climbing together and what you have to show for it is a bond that can't be bent or broken. No amount of haters, doubters, groupies, or supports can infiltrate your sanctum.

In the tunnel you stand, arms around one another's shoulders circled around an invisible pool that has collected all of the blood, sweat, tears, accomplishments, setbacks, laughs, fights, stories, and passion from the entire season. As captain you step into the pool, channel all of that energy to remind your brothers one last time what this is all about. Us. Our team, our dream, our destiny. To pour our hearts contents out onto the court for the man on either side because you damn well know he will doing the same for you.

With that you run into the bright lights. Onto the court where 15,000 Duke fans chuckle at little Lehigh. Where millions of fans turned the channel having marked this game as over before it started.

You don't blame them. They didn't know. They weren't in the circle with you. They couldn't feel the power in our pool.

When you won, you weren't surprised. You had expected to win from the moment you drew their name. Because you knew the power in your pool. Others made a big deal out of the game. Calling it the greatest upset in NCAA history. You laughed at this idea. An upset.