March Madness

It’s that time of year again. The time we all think about “March Madness”. When we reflect back on the hope we had for our team. Many recalled the glory of earlier struggles, and that may have sustained them through the wait - to find out if we were going. There was a lot of debate about strategy - even before the selection process. Some doubted that we should even go. But others saw it as a slam dunk. There was sure a lot of spectacle, cheerleaders, and rallies.

Finally, when the team was selected to go...we all wanted to support our team, and cheer it on to victory. Once they were there - we were there with them in spirit.

At first there was shock and awe. We sat in our easy chairs and watched the TV with amazement. We came out gunning, and the other team was soon wondering what hit them. It seemed like a rout, early on. It seemed like the tipping point came just after the whistle blew. Their defenders seemed beat, out-played, and on the run. But then things changed.

Now, we think about our team and wonder what could have gone wrong. Maybe we were overconfident. At first it seemed so easy. Most people were saying we’d win in a walk...we’d destroy them. They said that people in that far away host city would cheer for us and throw flowers. It didn’t happen.

When the “coach” declared “mission accomplished” early in the first half, most didn’t doubt we would win. But then the other team started to make a comeback, and the tide turned. We didn’t really seem to have a plan for the rest of the game. We had no defense for this team. They were playing by their own rules. They had the Sunni-Triangle defense.

Problems with the Team Bus

Worse was the fact that our strategists didn’t know anything about our opposition. They didn’t know anything about their history. They didn’t understand who we were battling.

The Guards took a lot of punishment. They were ill-prepared to be put in right away. They didn’t have the right equipment and it showed. They tried to rebound, but the injuries mounted. Compounding matters was the fact that the Reserves weren’t very deep.

Very soon we were losing many more players to injury, and worse. Part of the problem was the equipment, and part was not taking enough people in the first place. We were getting worn down, and no one wanted to admit it.

Then there were the innocent spectators. The sweet 16 year old whose home was leveled by a full-court press we put on Sadre City just before we took a timeout for Christmas. Her family was all killed as was some of our team. And there were tens of thousands of others.

Now there is growing public dissatisfaction with the game plan. Some would even say “what game plan?”. There are rumblings now that wonder how long this struggle can go on and if we should have even been there in the first place. It’s not just a few now – as at the beginning – it's the majority of people.

It looks now like the struggle will have to end without a victor being declared. We’ll just have to limp back and regroup. Recruiting now is a problem...no one seems keen on risking life or limb for this team now.

The worry now is to get our team home as soon as possible without more injuries. No one wants their child to be in the last hundred killed there, or the last twenty...or the final four.

The Blue Republic

:)