351 teams started the year with the same goal: a Final Four berth.
Therefore, it is almost guaranteed that you are going to feel the effects of March Sadness. While March Madness is a celebrated concept filled with heart-warming and feel good moments, upsets, and a multitude of highlights and memories, March Sadness is the exact opposite.
No matter who you are, you have experienced this at some point. Whether it be from your team missing the NCAA Tournament outright, being upset by a team one never thought could win, not meeting expectations, or having the dream of a Final Four stolen from you in the waning moments of a game.
On Sunday night, along with many UVa fans, I experienced a brutal case of March Sadness. We don't need to go over the gory details again. UVa blew a 15 point lead in the last nine minutes and couldn't capitalize on missed shots in the late moments of the game.
It was a nightmare.
Since then, it's been a sobering and humiliating experience. With that, I've realized you go through stages in March Sadness. These are completely normal. If you think people take sports too seriously or that they have a problem with sports, please take the next five minutes to experience what March Sadness really is.
Empathize with us, for just one moment.
1. Shock/Disbelief (WHAT JUST HAPPENED???)
This is the immediate reaction.
The final buzzer sounds and you have no clue what to do with your hands. You can't wrap your mind around what occurred in the time prior to that moment. Whether it be sitting in silence, a gaping hole formed with your lips, or staring blankly at the TV screen, it's as if your brain has shut completely down.
Malcolm Brogdon launched up a halfcourt shot as time expired in Sunday's game. Had it gone in, nothing would have changed. I was in complete and utter disbelief.
The immediate reaction is to just do nothing. I've never completely understood why this happens, and my only theory is that your trying to understand that whatever just happened truly did happen.
In all reality, you're trying to figure out how you can construct a delorean so you too could travel back in time to 10 minutes ago to stop the horrible madness that just occurred. You realize this is simply not going to happen, curse the fact that Back to the Future isn't real life, and move back into reality.
One may experience denial, but you come to the realization that no matter how many times you tell your significant other you didn't see it happen, it absolutely happened.
And that leads to....
2. Dejection (NO I'M NOT CRYING, IT'S ALLERGY SEASON)
Some fans have experienced this far too many times, but it hits hard particularly in the month of March. You realize that this is the last time you'll ever root for this particular team and it may never be the same.
However, this heart-wrenching sadness isn't just about the loss, but also for the players you supported.
First, that was a great act from Syracuse's Michael Gbinije. Even in victory, it's cool to see genuine sportsmanship (learn, Coach K).
Second, this picture rips at every UVa fan because the fanbase cares. Every group of fans wants to see their players succeed, and when they get so close to their goal, work valiantly, and represent their organization/university/fans with class, it's devastating to see them hurt. As fans, we can't really empathize with them, we weren't the ones on the court. Yet, somehow, we vicariously hurt with and for them.
With that comes the worst of the stages...
3. Anger (FIRE EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE JANITOR)
I truly wish that subtitle wasn't real....
This place is a train wreck of the highest order. Littlepage, London, Oliver, the janitor. Everyone should be fired.Let that be a lesson to you today: No janitor should ever pay for the sins of an awful program with horrible decision-making and HORRIBLE EXECUTION ON THE FIELD.
— Zach Staton (@HailStaton) November">https://twitter.com/HailStaton/status/670704291322... 28, 2015
.....I'm good.
This is the dangerous of all the stages. When you're angry, you tend not to do this little thing called thinking. Anything you say tends to just fall out of your mouth without going through the filter. You may hurt people's feelings, and you'll feel guilty for it later, but at the moment, they were in your way of anger and they stood no chance.
Again, no janitor should feel that wrath.
Some fans are justified in their anger. I was more than completely justified to be angry at the UVa football program at that moment. However, some people just don't deserve it. The tweet I am about to show you is just an example of the absolutely wonky things someone can say in the Anger Stage:
You must be joking. Letting Syracuse go on a 25-4 run to end your season should be a fireable offense. Period. https://t.co/xTLOqvIdIr
— Ed Matricardi (@EMatricardi) March">https://twitter.com/EMatricardi/status/71425440349... 28, 2016
So, UVa should fire Tony Bennett. Okay, let's examine.
Since being hired at UVa seven years ago, Bennett has amassed 165 wins, two ACC regular season championships, an ACC Tournament championship, four NCAA Tournament appearance (3 straight as a one or two seed), two Sweet Sixteens, an Elite Eight run, Coach of the Year, and coached the first player to ever win both ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Yet, he should be let go because of a single loss in the tournament....
When you hit this stage, you have to train yourself not to say completely outrageous things. I used to be horrible at this (once saying a janitor should be fired is an example) but have since toned down my anger and amped up on sheer sadness. Some may want Bill Self fired from Kansas because he has under performed quite a few times in the tournament. However, that's stupid when you understand he's won 12 straight Big XII titles in a row, has won a national championship against another top-tier coach in John Calipari, and has not won less than 23 games since he took the job in Lawrence in 2003.
When your team is knocked out of the tournament, it's okay to be angry, but please don't say irrational things in this stage. You're not thinking and you'll become Twitter venom.
4. Depression (YES I WILL EAT THIS PACK OF PEEPS)
Ladies and gentlemen, you can become so depressed that Peeps become your comfort food.
Trust me, it's the doldrums.
5. Understanding (I GUESS I HAVE TO MOVE ON)
By far, this is the hardest stage to get through.
You ever go some place for vacation for a week or two and just fall in love with it? Let's say you go to Disney World for the first time. You never experienced anything quite like it. It hits with you and you're hooked from the very start. At some point, you have to leave Disney World and you fear it. As you leave the resort and your dad (or mom) drives toward the exit sign that says, "See Ya Real Soon!", you stare out the window, make a smudge on the glass, and wish to God that you didn't have to leave.
After a few weeks, you get back to what life was like before and you move on.
When a team is knocked out of the tournament, especially after having a deep run, it's a lot like leaving Disney World for the first time. You've seen and felt happiness that hasn't quite been matched before, and now, you have to leave it and go back to what you did before. You have the memories of the season and spent time around a lot of other fans that take this as passionately as you do, and in some ways, it sucks having to move on from the camaraderie.
With the age of social media, it's a lot easier to stay up to date with fans, but it still stinks to have move on from the season.
Then you remember....
6. Hope for the Future (OUR RECRUITING CLASS IS AMAZING AND LOOK AT WHO'S COMING BACK)
This applies to everyone in the tournament except for Pittsburgh. Have fun with Kevin Stallings, Sheldon Jeter!
After all that, you always realize that there is a next season. That's one of the best parts of being a fan; there is always a next year. Some fans don't have that with a positive outlook, but as I've written before, they'll build that up as they inch closer to the season.
March is the best time of the year to be a sports fan. The craziness of the NCAA Tournament is unreal and provides with many moments that make us proud to be sports fans. On the other hand, the power of March Sadness can be overwhelming. You may go through these stages in different orders, but at some point, they'll get to you.
If you know anyone suffering from March Sadness, be there for them. Help them recover, however that may be possible (legally please). Take them out, let them sleep for 14 hours (thanks mom), let them eat a pack of peeps in one sitting (seriously, it was a really bad night). You may not understand how important it is to them, but they'll look back one day and thank you for not letting them tweet about firing a janitor because their team blew a big lead in the tournament.
*No janitors to my knowledge were actually fired for a team's failures
