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Life Experiences

Butler Again!!!

There are so many possible blog topics:  Butler University in the men’s NCAA National Basketball Championship game again, my saga with a cold that wouldn’t quit, more lessons through Bailey—and those are just the simple choices.  There are always the heavy hitter topics, like radiation leaks, earthquakes, the Middle East and stuff like that.

Let’s start with Butler.  Of course, I am rooting for Butler tonight.  There are so many reasons why.  Once again, this small school with way less money and resources is taking on a giant.  I even like UConn.  Well, I like some of the players.  Kemba Walker has a great story, and I have no doubt all of Harlem will be rooting for him to shine.  However, I still have to go for the little school with the geeky looking coach.  Tonight, Butler I hope takes home the championship.  I am rooting for the coach who is a math and science guy and who left the great corporate ladder to take the assistant coaching job because he loves basketball.  I am rooting for the team that has the higher graduation percentage and who isn’t under an NCAA investigation.  This isn’t a mistake this time around.  This Butler team came right back to the Final Four and back to the championship game.  They are not some wild card.  Tonight, I want to see them take home the prize!

I could go on and attempt to talk about other noteworthy topics. However, the cold I mentioned is demanding I quit trying to write long interesting pieces and wrap this blog up quickly. I think taking another nap may be more important than sharing deep insights.

Plus, if I don’t post this soon, the big game will be over and I will have missed adding my two cents along with all of the other bloggers out there about Butler and basketball.

Life Experiences

Go Butler!

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Today Butler will play Michigan State in the NCAA Final Four basketball game.  Butler is a university with an enrollment of less than 4,200 students! I love it when a little school makes it to the Final Four.

I thought I had better write about Butler today because, generally, these magical rides do not make it to the Championship game.  Tomorrow Butler might be out and we won’t hear much about them again for a while. However, that does not mean Butler is a fluke.  Butler has a history that says this is no accident. They have made it to the NCAA tournament six times. That is more than many major universities.

It helps that Butler is in Indiana. Indiana is one of the smartest basketball states. Hoosiers love their basketball and know the game. Plus Butler plays in the gym where the movie Hoosiers was filmed. For those who don’t know the movie, it’s about a small high school basketball team taking on the giants and winning it all. I love that Butler has been soaking up that anything is possible energy every time they walk into the gym.

The other reason I am writing about Butler is because I’ve been reading so much about big college athletic programs. The money that goes into some of these programs is amazing. Too often the programs are not about academics at all, but about advancing the prestige of a school through star players who generally leave early to go to the NBA. I believe the last time North Carolina won a championship, four of their five starters (only one a senior) left to go pro. Something is just not right for me about that.  It’s more about going pro than being part of a team or school. So it’s fun when some little school comes along, proving that power and money doesn’t buy the championship.

Of course even if little Butler wins the NCAA tournament this year, it’s not going to stop the insane way we throw money at college programs and athletes in an attempt to win and gain recognition.  Maybe Butler will remind us that it’s not all about being big or living on the front page. Sometimes the small and unheralded, wins.

I am rooting for Butler!