I wanna roll with this extended metaphor concept. To me, the NCAA Tournament is a mirror image of the college experience. Every round is just another step in the maturation of a champion, weeding out the pretenders to identify the best. Think I am crazy? Let's compare:
First Round = Freshman Year
There is so much hoopla surrounding this time that your head spins. For some, it's the first time they have ever set foot there. There are people running around everywhere, crazy schedules to master, lots of new people watching you. Everything in your season/life to this point was building to this moment. Then, after the hoopla of just getting there settles in, you have to play/go to class. Everybody is bigger and better than where you came from. You're on your toes more often, but there are plenty of distractions to drag you away. Do you stay focussed or let the pretty girl distract you?
(The arbitrary drinking analogy: Beer is everywhere in college. You didn't know partying was this much fun or accessible. The NCAA Tournament is the ultimate basketball party for a college player. Chug responsibly!)
Second Round = Sophomore Year
You feel like you're in a rhythm and this phase is sort of lost in the shuffle of excitement. You are soooooo much better than those people who got left behind in the previous phase. But this time comes on you so fast. Bam! You spent so much energy focussed on the last one that this time frame feels a bit rushed. You're tired, but you expect good things to keep happening to you. This is also when a lot of talented people overlook the goal and slip up.
(Drinking Analogy: You feel like a seasoned pro. Your liver can withstand four beer bongs and 8 jager-bombs as an appetizer. All of it before you've turned 21. What? How can it be illegal to drink? I do it all the time in a consequence-free environment, you say. To the NCAA player, you got that first win and now you start to think it's no big deal. Winning will continue to happen.)
Sweet Sixteen = Junior Year (2nd Semester to be exact)
You've gotten the big milestone out of the way and have had the chance to relax a little bit, but the serious road ahead is very close on the horizon. You know that the party is behind you in some ways, so you have to really settle down and focus on what needs to get done to reach the end. But the lead up to this point has been so much fun, and the attention has been great. You wonder if you could just pause time and stay here for a while, avoiding the inevitable: pressure and the end.
(Drinking analogy: You can walk into any bar or liquor store and buy what you want. Where is the excitement in that? You've got young students begging you to buy for them and it gets annoying. Been there, done that. Same for the players... You've won twice, the aura is gone and it's more about the game now. Basketball is back to feeling more normal. You go to a new venue and encounter more interviews and pomp and circumstance, when you really just want to play)
Elite Eight = Senior Year
You've reached the end of a great journey, and if you survive this you make it to where it is all decided. You are on the stage by yourself for the first time, and will be judged purely on your own merits and success. It's amazing to think how long ago that opening day seems, and you think back to all of the people who didn't make it to this point, and how fortunate you were to make it and have the ability to overcome all obstacles. You are confident, but secretly nervous as hell to finish what you started and make it.
(Analogy: You drink wine for the first time not out of a box, and go to cocktail parties where people drink not to get drunk. Novel concept. You want to fit in and be viewed as the real deal. Ditto for the basketball teams. This is where you step up, show your maturity and prove you belong in the Final Four)
The Final Four = Grad School
This is a spot reserved only for the best of the best. You have proven yourself as worthy, but now take the next step to stand out as one of the elite. The people around you are more important (famous) and have come out of the walls to wish you well and push you to succeed. There is certain pressure to achieve, but for most it comes with the confidence and satisfaction of simply making it to this point, which is a huge measuring stick in their lives.
You can sort of make the same claim for the final game. It's just a different feel. Less hoopla, and more hoops.
So, to refresh: Tonight starts our junior year in college! If I am being really symbolic, my junior year of college saw Butler get snubbed (hosed, screwed, jobbed) from the NCAA Tourney and ended up losing in the second round of the NIT to.... wait for it..... Syracuse.
You just can't plan this stuff any better...
-Will
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