This weekend marks the beginning of March Madness. The first two days of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are, in my eyes, part of the best weekend in sports. I love the upsets, the comebacks, and the passion that is missing in professional basketball in the US.
A few years ago, I got to be a part of one of the biggest upsets in the tournaments history. Growing up Fairfax, Virginia, I lived about 10 minutes from George Mason University. Both my parents graduated from there, and as a kid I went to almost every home game because my dad’s business had courtside seats at the Partiot Center.
In 2006, George Mason was one of the biggest upsets of the year heading into the Sweet 16 after defeating perennial contenders Michigan State and North Carolina. Luckily for Mason, the Regional Semis were played in Washington, DC, a relatively short 45-minute subway ride from the school’s campus.
After Mason made it into the Sweet 16, I decided to make the trip home to Virginia to watch them play. I got really good tickets and got to go to both games they played that weekend, and stayed for about an hour after they beat the No. 1 ranked UConn to watch the players cut down the nets and celebrate with the thousands of Mason fans that made the trip out.
I don’t think I’ll ever experience another sporting event with an atmosphere as electric as Mason’s win over UConn. Every time they scored, the entire arena erupted. When Jai Lewis missed two free throws, and UConn had a chance to win the game in overtime with a three-pointer, you could literally hear the entire arena take a deep breath in and hold it while the potential game-winner was in the air. And of course, the explosion of cheers afterwards.
Like usual, I took the weekend off starting today to watch the games. Happy madness everyone!
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I love that you wrote about an experience that you had with March Madness. I have never been to an upset but a great memory was my opportunity to see Wake Forest, the school my parents attended, play in the tournament. We traveled all the way down to Tampa, FL to see Wake play and the first game they won! I didn't think I could be more excited. If I remember correctly we beat Auburn. It was exciting to see my small school win. I feel that you are on the same side with George Mason. You gotta love the upsets!
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