It was a cold rainy winter December day in Springfield, Massachusetts. The year was 1891. Dr. James Naismith was instructing the gym class at the local Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). He needed something to keep the students occupied and moving.
What to do? He thought, as the guys joked, hit it each other in the arm and passed the soccer ball around. Got to get this class under control. How about Duck on a Rock? That was an old game with running and throwing. No, can’t have rock throwing inside a building. Someone is going to get hurt. Can’t go outside in this weather. He kicked a peach basket on the floor. Where’d that come from? Soccer needs more space than inside this gymnasium. What can we do with that soccer ball? Dr. Naismith stopped and looked down at the peach basket. Why not? It might just work.
“Hey, Wilt,” he yelled at his tallest student, “go get a ladder, some nails and a hammer. Nail this peach basket onto that elevated track up there.”
Basket will be about 10 feet up. Dr. Naismith gauged the distance in his head. That should work.
“What are we doing, Coach?” Wilt asked.
“Playing a new game,” Dr. Naismith answered. “We’ll form teams and see who can get that soccer ball into the basket.”
“Sure, Coach. It’s your idea.”
It was his idea. Dr. Naismith had just invented a new game.
One Hundred and Fifteen years later, in 2006, Dr. Naismith’s granddaughter discovered her grandfather’s handwritten diaries. In there, she found. Dr. Naismith’s name for the new game: “Basket Ball.”
Today, One Hundred and Twenty-Two years later, the final sixteen teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball Tournament have been decided. The tournament itself is lovingly referred to by fans of college basketball (and who isn’t a fan of college basketball?) as the “Big Dance.” It is just that – a wonderful display of running, dribbling, passing, jumping, gliding, flying and dunking by the some of the most outstanding basketball players from across the country.
To begin, the best 68 college basketball teams in the US are selected for what is perhaps the only truly national sports competition in the USA.
The First Round winnows 8 teams to 4 teams, who join the others in the Second Round of 64.
The Second Round of 64 is what I think of as the “real first round,” because that first play of eight squads was added later in 2011 to allow a few more schools to play in the tournament. I grew up with the starting round of 64.
Next, these 64 teams are divided into groups of 16 teams which begin play at different cities assigned to different national regions. The regions are fitting referred to as the Midwest, South, West and East. Of the 16 teams within a region, each team is assigned a rank from #1 to #16, based on past performance and forecast ability to prevail. #1 is arguably the best of that region, and #16 certainly the most determined, but if one thing is certain in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, the unexpected is that. Anything can and does happen, and upsets are the rule and not the exception – which makes this, in my opinion and from a fan’s perspective, one of the most entertaining of collegiate athletic events.
With 64, the competition really begins. 64 teams go to 32 teams, and then 32 teams go to 16 teams — which is what ended last night. These 16 teams are referred to as the “Sweet Sixteen,” because a team that makes it this far has passed a very real milestone, has come of age, and has earned national recognition for the prowess of its players and the quality of its athletic program. Whatever happens next, the Sweet Sixteen are all winners. This is one on my favorite points in the tournament and a moment to be savored.
This year is a first, because in the 2013 Sweet Sixteen, there is one team that was seeded #15 in its opening bracket of 16 teams. Remember #15 means right at the bottom of the heap with little forecast chance of winning and advancing. No #15 team has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen — until this year.
Florida Gulf Coast University (Fla. GC) beat #7 seed San Diego State in the round of 32 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Before that, they beat #2 Georgetown in the round of 64. Florida Gulf Coast University has only held classes for sixteen years, and this is only the second year their basketball team has been eligible for the national tournament. Congratulations, Fla. GC. Now, they move to Arlington, Texas (which is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex where I sit writing this blog) for the next game. If they win, they will advance to the Elite Eight and another first in basketball history. Underdog teams like Florida Gulf States are what make the Big Dance so unpredictably exciting.
For each Region, the next rounds of the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight move to a new city. As noted, Arlington is one of those cities. Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas is hosting the South Region for its 4 of the 16, that will go to its 2 of the 8, that will go to its 1 of the Final Four to advance to the next location.
The Final Four moves to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, where the best 4 of 2013 will dribble, pass and shoot it out, with the two prevailing teams playing for the National Championship and the victor’s crown.
For a college basketball fan, it does not get any better than this.
The only thing better would be if Dr. Naismith could be watching, too.
What am I saying — I bet he is watching, and I bet he’s cheering every time one of those soccer balls falls through that peach basket.
Some things don’t change, they just get better.
Pass the popcorn, I gotta’ game to watch.
Grandpa Jim