The Big Dance

I love to dance. Usually by myself around my apartment when I'm supposed to be cleaning. That is, until I see myself in a mirror and realize my "in-my-head" dancing and my "real-life" dancing are severely incongruous. 

I swear I'm doing the same thing Beyonce does, why does it look so different? Am I having a seizure? Oh God, maybe I am. I should sit down. 

I also love dancing at weddings. I love it so much. Mostly because everyone else is either a) too drunk to care that you're a bad dancer b) so blissfully happy that they don't even notice or c) a just as bad - or dare I say, worse- dancer.

I probably look like this kid when I dance. It's awesome when you're 7. Not when you're 27.

This time of year, you know what my favorite place is for dancing? A basketball court. 

Say what? See what I did there? You thought this post was going to be about real dancing when, in fact, it's about metaphorical dancing. NCAA Dancing. The Big Dance. March Madness. 

Yes, my friends, Davidson is dancing. I am PUMPED. 

Sure there are other teams that are bigger, perhaps better, and have more money in their programs. But, let me remind you of a little moment in history known as the NCAA tournament of 2008. Perhaps you remember a gentleman by the name of Stephen Curry and an excellent team of Wildcats that defeated teams analysts said we shouldn't? I know Gonzaga does. And Georgetown does. Then there's Wisconsin. And Kansas certainly does. 

That year, people who had never heard of Davidson before became Wildcat fans, cheering for our guys - rooting for the Cinderella story. (Dancing and  princess references - basketball is awesome.)


Remember last year when Duke was defeated by Lehigh Valley? I tried to google Lehigh Valley during that game but their website froze. Probably because all us UNC fans were trying to find out more about OUR NEW BEST FRIENDS. 

But back to Davidson. We "lesser known" basketball schools are what make this tournament what it is. We're the schools people across the nation are googling at halftime. We're the schools you can literally hear the announcers reading about on a prepared fact sheet while on-air.

We're also the ones who screw up your brackets. 

I like it that way. To our guys, it's more about the name on the front of the jersey - and the visibility this tournament brings to our school -  than the name on the back. (Especially since they don't even have their names on their backs...)

Will Davidson ever be a #1 seed? Probably not ever. But that means we have more opportunity to make those special moments like we did in 2008. Or like we very well could do this year. (Marquette, you've been warned.) 

This Thursday, I'm looking forward to cheering along with my fellow alums, reminiscing about past teams, and either celebrating or commiserating at the final buzzer. We'll laugh as announcers mispronounce players names and when the only "filler" commentary is about how the school does laundry for its students. (Seriously y'all, get a new anecdote.)

What we lack in national championships, we make up for in school spirit and hard work. We love our team, we love our school and we love screwing up your brackets. So get ready - GO CATS. 

On that note, as a basketball fan who actually knows nothing about teams outside of NC, I thought I'd share a few of my secrets for picking a winning bracket. This is really how I choose my teams. You're welcome. 

Tips for filling out a bracket. 
1. Pick the winner based on the most ferocious mascot.

2. Try to say the name of each school backwards and pick the one that sounds the most hilarious.

3. If it's a school you thought about attending, pick it to win. 

4. If it's a school you didn't get into, don't pick it. They are losers. You are better than them. 

5. If you are filling out the bracket on paper, pick the school with the shorter name so that it will all fit on one line and you don't get a hand cramp trying to write real small. (Also, find a pool that doesn't use paper brackets. That's lame.)

6. Pick the school for which you can name the most famous alumni. With all these famous alums, they probably have some money which is helping out their sports program. 

7. Don't pick Duke. Duke is the worst. UGH. 

8. If the school is from North Carolina and doesn't start with D, end with UKE, or rhyme with PUKE, then you should pick it. Unless we're down to the final rounds in which case you should probably pick the higher seed. There may be money on the line, after all. 

9. Ask your Dad.

10. Just copy someone else's bracket.