![]() It felt like the only moment I was granted permission to share in the absolute wild emotions, the euphoria and the heartbreak, of those who had a more emotional stake in the tournament. The ‘One Shining Moment’ video has always been my favorite part of March Madness because, until recently, it was the only moment of the tournament where my emotions moved me somewhere beyond a casual fan cheering for their bracket picks to pan out. It may be cheesy as hell, but it’s been making grownups cry since 1987 so don’t second guess its power. But do any other songs in the history of music capture the unity of sports and storytelling quite like ‘One Shining Moment’? I don’t think so. I especially loved the final moment of the presentation, the moment CBS cut to Greg Gumbel in the studio to present ‘One Shining Moment.’Īre there better songs than ‘One Shining Moment’ in the history of music? Yes, there are. I loved watching them climb the ladder one at a time to cut down their piece of the net to hold onto forever. I loved watching the players crying and hugging each other in a sea of school-colored confetti. My biggest thrill of each college basketball season came in the moments a new champion was crowned. ![]() I enjoyed them and wanted them to succeed, but no one in my immediate family went to school there, it always felt like they were playing second fiddle to the professional sports teams I fell in love with in my hometown, and when it came time for me to go to college, it turned out I was not exactly Golden Gopher material (Fuck you, U of M admissions!!!). I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and never really latched onto the hometown Gophers when it came to college sports. I didn’t know this truth about me until now. I have also never experienced March Madness the way it was meant to be experienced. It’s a ridiculous approach to the process, but it does have some truth to it, and I can say as a writer, if I am never not writing, then I am also never not listening to ‘One Shining Moment.’ This idea that a writer is never not writing even when they are not writing because everything is part of writing. I mean this in a similar way to how we often talk about the writing process. I don’t have a Spotify playlist setup to play the official March Madness anthem on repeat for all hours of the day. The Aztecs produced the most dramatic shot of the tournament with a buzzer-beater lifting them over FAU while the Huskies earned their trip to the title game with another blowout.I am never not listening to ‘One Shining Moment.’ I’m talking about the Luther Vandross version, of course. 6 seed Creighton with a last-second free throw.Īnd so the Final Four was set. Meanwhile, UConn kept up their tear of double digit victories by knocking out Gonzaga and SDSU squeaked by No. The upsets continued as Miami took down No. 3 seed Kansas State to punch a ticket to the Final Four. 9 seed FAU established themselves as the biggest Cinderella when they beat No. Then San Diego State took down Alabama and No. The Sweet 16 brought us another instant classic between No. 7 Missouri only continued the party for the Tigers. ![]() In the second round, Kansas became the next No. 1 seed, besting Purdue in the East Region. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson became just the second to top a No. 13 seed Furman managed a miracle victory over No. 2 seed Arizona in the first round while No. The NCAA Tournament opened with a string of upsets that marked it as a special year.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |