When my sister suggested traveling to San Diego during spring break to see a March Madness game live in action, I thought it was a fun suggestion, but not realistic for two broke college students. Up until the night before the game, I was not sure if we would actually attend. I was still in shock waking up at five a.m. the morning of said basketball game.
I should preface this article by saying that I do not care for basketball whatsoever. The day after the basketball game I was still trying to recover my voice and my headache from screaming and yelling for hours.
My lovely younger but taller sister Madelyn currently attends a midsize school in Huntington, West Virginia called Marshall University. Most people’s knowledge of this school is from the film about the university from an event in the 1970s. However, since my sister is an athlete, I have received a rare behind the scenes look at this school with its amazing athletics, unique community, and intense fans.
My sister, a volleyball player at Marshall, has had the opportunity to meet other athletes from all over the world playing at Marshall and overseas the past summer through connections she made at her university.
Her “bestie”, a player originally from Europe, is on the starting lineup of the Marshall basketball team and was able to provide us tickets for the game. We went immediately from the airport to the hotel to the university that was hosting the game, and we sat impatiently for an entire hour before waiting for tip-off.
Once the game started, the entire Marshall section was in full force, on their feet and cheering for the herd. Marshall was the underdog, the David if you will, against basketball powerhouse Wichita State. Marshall took an early lead, and we all held our breaths and held on for dear life.
Our players took several disadvantages, from one of our key players capping at the most personal fouls and resulting in his being benched late in the second half, numerous questionable calls from the referees, and many calls which required long time-outs.
In the last few minutes of the game, it became clear that we would be triumphant and pull off a great upset. The Marshall crowd felt as if we ourselves had played the last hour of the game, and we were clenching our fists just hoping that we would make it to the next round. When the final seconds ticked down, we all cheered and high-fived and hugged the random, yet friendly strangers who we bonded with over these last emotionally-charged moments of the game.
Meanwhile, I, probably the least knowledgeable and disinterested person where all basketball matters are concerned, became completely engrossed in this basketball game. I was losing my wits and yelling and cheering, as if my cheers would definitely affect the positive outcome of this game.
There is just something about the wild, unpredictable nature of basketball games in March, the eponymous nature of the March basketball games themselves: March Madness. If these games can transform a person like me, they can transform anyone and create a completely new mindset in even the most impartial observer.
