Not a fan of Cinderella

Its early Saturday afternoon, just hours before tip off of the 2011 NCAA Mens Final Four. This event is the  culmination of a season that began five short months ago and will come to a climax on Monday night. I woke up with no intention of watching the contest between the 8 seed Butler Bulldogs and 11 seeded VCU Rams. The fear of disgust and anger that I would have watching the team that knocked out my pick to win it all experience the joy and elation of this moment seemed too much to bear. VCU handed the blue blooded Kansas Jayhawks another crushing defeat in the madness of March. I've watched them fall to 14 seeded Bucknell in '05, 13 seeded Bradley in '06, the 9 seed Northern Illinois in '10 and now the 11 seed VCU Rams, all of which came as a top 5 seed. But as the day grows older I have decided that at 3:09 when the ball is thrown up I will be glued to the television with a cool beverage in hand. The reason I felt sick on the afternoon of March 27th in Houston is the same reason I love this greatest tournament in sports! Sixty-eight teams came into this tournament with aspirations of winning 6 games and hoisting the National Championship trophy this Monday. 67 teams and millions of fans will have their dreams ended suddenly and with a finality that is unmatched in an sports arena. Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu said "Without darkness there can be no light." I say without the disappointment of failure there is no happiness in success. If the top programs were to win year after year and the brackets were "chalk" then the tournament wouldn't be the spectacle it has become! There would've been nothing better than to hear the chants of Rock Chalk Jayhawk rain down from the crowd Monday night but I, like so many others, will be forced to wait another year and appreciate the greatest playoff in all of sports!