On the eve of my favorite sporting event of the year, I have to write about the NCAA Tournament simply because I am obsessed with it and love it and everything about March Madness. Are these analogies cheesy and predictable yes? But as I say over and over again, sports mirrors life and the NCAA Tournament is no different.
1. Anything can happen on a given day. Much like life the NCAA Tournament is filled with unpredictable endings and upsets and that’s what make this an amazing sporting event and what make life the true adventure it is.
2. We must learn how to respond to adversity. It’s easy to stay stuck in a bad moment or situation and focus just on the negatives. But just like a team can’t hang their heads or become discouraged if their shots don’t fall or they fall behind, we must find ways to dig deep and overcome the temporary setback.
3. What you’ve done in the past doesn’t always matter. Things may be going well or we may feel good about what we have and things go wrong or bad or not as planned and we find ourselves on the outside looking in or missing out. High seeds think they are in good position and had a good season but then they are upset but a lower seed and just like that their season is over.
4. It’s emotional. March Madness brings the highest of highs and lowest of lows. It’s heartbreaking to see a senior in their final game lose and the tears start flowing knowing that’s it for their career. But it’s exhilarating to watch a dramatic game or win or see a small school make it to the tournament for the first time. Life is also full of highs and lows and ups and downs just like March Madness is.
5. It’s lucky. Sure we get where we are in life in large part due to our education or work we put in but sometimes luck puts us in the right place at the right time to meet our partner or land a great job. Teams in the tournament earn their bids but some got in due to a lucky bounce or unbelievable shot to win it.
6. It’s fun. Even people who don’t follow or like basketball enjoy filling out brackets or watching the tournament. It’s something that brings people together. Life is fun too. It’s full of events that bring us together. It’s full of upsets and great wins and losses and that’s what make life and March Madness so fun.
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