Favila: Eager for the Madness

For me, the Madness began during the 1985 NCAA tournament. I was a 14-year old eighth grader and I had successfully picked two of the Final Four teams in the national semifinals that year.

After careful consideration and analysis, my Final Four looked like this: St. John’s, North Carolina, Duke and the University of Georgetown, which I had winning the whole shebang.

As it turned out, Georgetown and St. John’s, which were both No. 1 seeds, would make the Final Four that year, along with Memphis State (now just Memphis), which was a No. 2 seed, and Villanova, which was a No. 8 seed.

Georgetown would beat St. John’s in the semifinals while Villanova would upset Memphis State in their semifinal contest.

I had never even heard of Villanova before this sudden title push. All I knew was that they were the Cinderella story of the 1985 tournament so I was confident that my Hoyas, led by the great Patrick Ewing, would burst Villanova’s bubble, win their second consecutive national title and make me look like a bracketological genius.

Of course luck would not be on my side that year as Villanova would pull off one of the tournament’s biggest upsets and beat Georgetown 66-64.

To this day I can’t stand Villanova because of what they did to me and I find myself always picking against them whenever I fill out my brackets.

And to this day, I still look forward to March Madness and the Final Four tournament.

With the exception of the Super Bowl, I don’t think there is a more exciting sporting event out there. It’s amazing to me how 64 teams are suddenly whittled down to 16 after just one weekend of non-stop hoops then down to four after another basketball-packed weekend.

And while I find it difficult to support Villanova, it’s the Cinderella teams like the Wildcats that make the tournament so special. I mean who can forget North Carolina State in 1983? The Wolfpack was a No. 6 seed but they managed to eke out wins and eventually upset Akeem Olajuwon and the University of Houston in the finals.

I can still see the late Jim Valvano running out on the court in total shock and disbelief as he desperately searched for someone to hug.

Or what about the University of Kansas in 1988? Danny Manning was good, but the experts said he was supposed to be no match for the Oklahoma Sooners and their explosive offense. Shows what the experts know.

So who will be this year’s tournament Cinderella? Only time will tell. But as I prepare to fill out my bracket, I have to remember that in life nothing is certain and that goes double for the NCAA Final Four tournament.

Dave Favila is senior sportswriter for Valley Freedom Newspapers. He can be reached at davidf@valleystar.com or at 956-430-6214.