The Final Four is Here!

I don’t normally blog about sports, but today is a special occasion.  For those of us who live in the United States and enjoy the game of basketball the Final Four is upon us!  For those outside the US, here in the states, college basketball teams have a huge end-of season tournament called March Madness where the best 64 teams (actually a few more if you count the ridiculous play-in games) compete in a single elimination tournament.  We are now down to the final four teams in the tournament: Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, and Ohio State.

I lived in Kentucky for five years and I definitely caught the college basketball bug.  Some people just don’t get it and I understand that the late game stoppages can be annoying, but in the more dramatic late-season games of the college basketball season I often find myself on the edge of my seat.  There is always a chance to see some high-drama in these tournament games.  Occasionally a small school like Lehigh takes down a behemoth like Duke, and oh did that put a smile on my face.  This year’s tournament certainly did not disappoint and we’ll see if it has any surprises left in store.

I heard Jon Haidt recently say during a talk that “sports is to war as pornography is to sex.  It gives us a chance to exercise some ancient urges.”  I suppose that is true.  It feels like you are going to war with the other team to a certain degree and I really enjoyed the competitive nature of athletics when I was in high school and college as a participant and an observer.  In high school I actually got to play in a national tournament for small private school soccer teams.  Definitely one of the best experiences of my life.

What sporting events really get your blood going?  Please leave your comments below.

Oh yeah, and Go big blue!