Unleash the roundball to the hardcourt

The roundball, the smell of the court on an early morning, the memories this game leaves behind

The first weekend of the madness is but a hop, skip and a jump away. As quickly as it will come, it will quickly come to an end. If it reminds us of anything, it is that life itself can be so unpredictable.

All the study, pouring over stat sheets, looking at the opinions of others, and submitting our predictions with great anticipation and confidence. Man, just the bantering with my family has me worn-out before the thing even gets started.

The final four comes and it’s never what we could have conceived or imagined. At best, we got some things right, we get some things wrong, we pick up the pieces and sprint to the next round, hoping that everyone else had the same results.

Life is a series of questions and opinions. Only when the outcome comes forth can we be assured that we must either adjust to the winds that are blowing, or try to stand upon our own stubborn convictions.

And so it is with our own lives, things both great and small.

The weekend for selection of the initial 68 teams is this coming Sunday. The brackets are fresh and new and if you are like me, you have to fill it out in pencil because it will change 123 times before that first game is played. Will I end up blaming or will I adjust? It is said, blessed is the man who can laugh at himself for he shall always be entertained.

This year for some reason, the bracket brings back memories. Perhaps it’s because I feel a million miles from family and miss my boys. But back then, with all my kids playing ball, me coaching, the approach of spring in Michigan and me marking another year older on the birth chart – it was most likely one of the fullest and most fun months of the year.

Tyler was playing at Alma college, his (now wife), Sara also playing at Alma College, Troy playing varsity at Greenville High School, Seth playing freshman basketball at Greenville and me coaching at Ionia High school. Three different cities, each playing over 20-game schedules not to mention the scouting I was doing and my poor checkbook trying to maintain the pay for the master schedule and making sure nobody starved or slipped through the cracks. By the way, pizza night at our house was never anything less than six large pizzas. I think I am still paying off my AmEx card for some of those dinners.

When all my sons were still at home, we always had a family bracket challenge.

NCAA tournament time was like replacing our schedules with a whole new set of frustrations. All sitting around the television, changing channels to catch all the action, shouts of madness to the refs that couldn’t hear us; to leaps and jumps and hugs over last second shots gone in. Or gone home.

For our bracket, each person had to chip in $10. The winner got the cash. To kids, THAT kind of money in our house was serious. And I went a step further. I ordered two trophies. One the DeLap family tournament champion and the second called the “toilet bowl” trophy for the one who had the lowest score in the tournament. I won a few of those in my time. Hail yes, I’m proud.

On final four night I’d grill steaks and we’d chose sides if we were out of it, and wear the colors of our team if we were still in the hunt for the championship.

Somehow my life is way too silent this year, but make no mistake, I will be grilling a steak even though I no longer have a stake in this year’s final four. For me, it’s not just excitement of the current year even though I know that my Wisconsin Badgers are going to bow out way too early. The good news to THAT scenario is hopefully I will still have North Carolina to pull me out of the toilet with championship points. Got to root for Seth Tremble – as we both graduated from Menomonee Falls High School. If Wisconsin does somehow get that far to play Auburn (this year’s hands on favorite) and wins… I’m never entering another bracket challenge.

I just heard from a million miles away my son saying, “yes you will, Dad.”

For me… it’s the memories. That’s when I look up to heaven and say… “yeah. You did that for me.”

He gives us memories for our old age.

This year’s Cinderella I am predicting to be Indiana. Don’t tell me you picked them because not even the students at Indiana pick them. My reasoning? Gene Hackman just died. He wants a front row seat from eternity. One of his most memorable movies was about a “Cinderella” team – and if the shoe fits…

Wait, I’m not done. The team he coached in the movie was from Hickory, Indiana. AND – wait for it… The name of the movie was “Hoosiers.”

This year’s Darkhorse that everyone MUST put on their bracket is the Indiana Hoosiers. DeLap logic.

And… we press on with another dark horses, Tigers, Blue Devils, Gators, Cougars, Volunteers, Crimson Tide, Thunderbirds, Spartans, Cardinals, Red Raiders, Wolverines and of course – Badgers. Go get ‘em Bucky!