Will the Terps fail...probably...but I'm hoping like hell that they don't
So I filled out some brackets (final year for a different one…I’m following the one bracket to rule them all method from here on out) and I watched the opening day. I guess it is safe to say I’m zoned in on the only thing I can watch involving college basketball. It makes more sense than college football and the tension is high because every game matters. It’s sort of like being dropped into the middle of a heated NBA playoff game every time a new game in the tourney starts.
I have a few favorites in college sports, mainly University of Maryland who won their first round game against California and will lose take on Memphis in the next round. I can’t help but feel a lack of confidence because I’m not used to local teams being good (other than the Capitals.) Sure the Redskins and Orioles have had their glory in the past, that’s glory I’ve only had a glimpse of. In my short life, I’ve only been privy to see these teams make it the big show and lose after the first round. The Baltimore Ravens and Maryland Terps are an exception to that statement because they have indeed won championships in the past 10 years.
Still the majority outweighs the minority here and I’m still on edge. I am hoping that the Terps can move on and prove me wrong. I even picked them to go to the Final Four in the majority of my bracket pools (a foolish choice I am told by….everyone I’ve talked to.)
Next to them, I was pulling for the American University Eagles to pull the upset (something they almost did!) against Villanova.
Alas this was not to be and they couldn’t hold their lead to the end of the second half. I sort of had a feeling when the announcer on CBS was trumpeting comparisons with George Mason and calling American’s win another “Cinderella story” with six minutes left that it wasn’t going to happen. Thats my sports jinx/superstitious side of things, the reality is that American just ran out of gas after holding off Villanova for 75% of the game.
So Maryland lives on, American dies.
I had two other choices to win the tourney, one being North Carolina which I won’t talk about here because you can be force fed Tyler Hansbrough at all hours of the day on ESPN. I am not a fan of the team, but I recognize they are good and I think they may have the will to win this year.
My real choice is the Pitt Panthers and it’s a choice I truly believe can/will come true. Aside from my homerism for Maryland or my safety choice in the Tar heel juggernaut, Pitt is a team I think can go all the way. I can’t talk about certain players on the team for lack of knowledge and I can’t say I know much about their program personally. All I know is that Pittsburgh in general is a town that is competitive as hell. You can see it with the Steelers and you can see it with the Panthers. They are always there nagging away and pushing to win.
The Pitt Panthers made it to the tourney eight straight times and haven’t been to the Final Four since 1941. This is probably the best chance they’ve had since then. Also you don’t get a one seed (their first) for nothing, they’ve proven they are a force. If they don’t win it all, they are at least going to the championship game. If they don’t make it at all, I can just play the retarded college basketball novice card and never write about it again.
My lack of knowledge of the teams and games doesn’t stop me from commenting and enjoying the games though. And I guess I can consider Pitt local enough…even though I am not a fan of the city too much.
