Bill OBoyle: Odds favor UConn, South Carolina over Carol King
Mar. 31—Well, it's time for the "Final Four!"
Yes, after this weekend's "Sweet Sixteen" narrowed to the "Elite 8" and finally the "Final Four," we can't wait to see UConn win its second straight national title.
Wait. What?
Oh, you really think anybody can beat UConn?
C'mon man.
And in the women's tourney, South Carolina will lose? Wrong again.
These two programs are so good, it's hard to imagine either of them losing.
However, according to March Madness lore — anything is possible.
I know all this because my bracket is pristine — so far I have picked every single game correctly. It's amazing!
April Fool!
That's what is so great about the NCAA tournaments — any team can beat any team on any night and it often happens,
Unless you are playing the UConn men or the South Carolina women.
Then throw the madness out — as Dragnet's Joe Friday would say, "Just the facts!"
The NCAA basketball tournaments are always met with great anticipation — bracket pools abound, college sweatshirts are worn and sports bars with several giant screen TVs are filled with fans. I was thrilled to wear my Clemson hoodie to Trivia Night last week — unfortunately, the Cinderella team lost to Alabama in the Elite 8 round.
But the pandemic era forced us to resort to staying home and watching the tournaments on our newly purchased big-screen TVs. So instead of heading to a favorite sports venue to watch the games and grab a snack or two, "March Madness" was temporarily experienced by most at home, where COVID-19 Madness existed for more than a year.
But actually for me, my recliner is where I will watch the games. I've watched them all from the comfort of home since the pandemic, but it just isn't the same. There are none of my basketball-loving buddies to exchange comments with and I can only watch one game at a time. Clicking back and forth and back and forth causes all kinds of frustrations, not to mention my uncanny ability to manage to click when there are commercials on every channel.
I really do enjoy returning to those good old days when we can once again put on a (INSERT TEAM NAME) sweatshirt and head to the sports bar, order up a delicious appetizer or meal and lean back and watch four games at once.
But I will pick up a pizza and stay home to watch the games. There will be no yelling and screaming by crazed fans who just don't realize that the coaches and players on the TV screen can't hear them.
And as soon as UConn and South Carolina are crowned champions, our attention will turn to baseball. To my fellow Yankee fans — can this be real? They started out with three wins at Houston? Can this continue?
And The Masters golf event will be here in two weeks. Can someone just find a way to get me to Augusta National to play one round there? And for hardcore sports fans, the NHL and NBA playoffs will arrive soon — what are the chances the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup? And how about those Knicks?
It's all madness when you think about it. That's why fanatical fans are so much fun to watch.
And as we continue through summer and the annual Kielbasa Festival in Plymouth, the Tomato Festival in Pittston and the Pierogi Festival in Edwardsville will arrive and that can only mean one thing — Fantasy Football draft days are near.
It's a fast-paced world we live in and you have to be ready to hit the ground running just to keep up.
No one living in the techy world of 2024 would ever be able to go back to the 1960s and be able to tolerate the slow pace of gathering information.
When we were kids, we waited for the afternoon delivery of The Times Leader Evening News to check scores and see how our favorite teams and players did the day before. Oh, we may have listened to a game on our transistor radios, but we usually had to be in bed long before the games were over.
And as I think about those days, I actually long for them — no cellphones, no Sportscenter, no texts. We hardly used the telephone — dialing numbers was difficult, as was walking up to the TV to change a channel. What remote control?
But just like today, the games were always exciting. That's what still draws us to the TV, or the computer, the iPad or the cell phone. We want to know who won and watch the highlights.
And I still hope to see Carol King in concert somewhere — anywhere.
So let's all enjoy March Madness and everything that follows.
Even though the odds are far better that UConn and South Carolina will win than they are that I will see and hear Carol King in concert.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
