This just in — What a difference a year makes.
Last year in Chapel Hill it seemed mighty Casey had struck out. There was no joy on the Hill. There would be no NCAA tournament for the Tar Heels. It was a stunning crash and burn after beginning the year ranked #1.
Today, Carolina is a number one seed and, for many of us, it feels like order has been restored in the universe. I leave it to sports writers to break down all the particulars of how this occurred, but I do know this — Coach Davis deserves great credit for delivering to fans an exciting season of high-level college basketball.
One of the greatest things about the NCAA tournament is the uncertainty of it. Once they blow the whistle and the game begins either team can prevail. We don’t know yet who will be the Cinderella story in this year’s tournament except for those teams that we can exclude from that category.
In my house, that starts with UConn and UNC in that order. My husband is a UConn graduate and my dad graduated from UConn law school. I attended Dad’s law school graduation in Storrs, Connecticut and he attended mine from Carolina (during its bicentennial). He said he found mine more impressive. (It was a pretty big deal that year.) Maybe it was just the miracle of my graduating from college 18 years after high school.
In any case, across my kitchen table it’s my number one seed versus Rick’s number one seed and his team is defending its 2023 championship. I painted one of our bathrooms last fall three of the walls are Carolina blue and the accent wall is UConn blue. The struggle is real.
I enjoy everything about the tournament — the buzzer-beating shots to send an unlikely team to the next level and the companion shock and disappointment of the loss from the team that had been ahead seconds before. It’s a state-of-the-art sports drama.
Even more, I enjoy the fact that 30 seconds after a dramatic elimination, the losing team lines up to shake hands with and congratulate the winners. I remember Coach K and Coach Williams distinctly taking a moment to encourage kids from opposing teams (regardless of win/loss). These are things to look for in great coaching and it’s a joy to see it on display.
They say things like “you played a great game” and “I’m so proud of you.” These are neutral statements supporting excellence in athletic competition and human character. It’s important to remember that the kids they’re talking to are just that – kids … often teenagers. They need to hear it.
We all need to hear it. The day after I lost in a school board election, Ellie Kinnaird called me saying that she was proud of how I had run my race and she was disappointed that I lost. I will never forget that gesture. I was the mother of two school-age kids and a college graduate, but I needed to hear that.
So as we break out the chicken wings and nachos and stay up late watching four games at once, I like to keep in mind that 67 teams are going home empty-handed. Sixteen of them will feel pretty sweet next weekend, then four of them will be so near the prize that they’ll feel they can taste it.
Only one team will get there, though. We’re pretty spoiled around here that we expect it to be our guys, but we need to remember last year and enjoy the mystical possibilities for their own sake.
(featured image via Todd Melet)
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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