NCAA Turmoil

When the Butler Bulldogs, a #5 seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, beat my beloved Syracuse Orange, a #1 seed, in the Sweet Sixteen, I was devastated. My brain could not comprehend what my eyes witnessed for 40 minutes on television. I, along with other Syracuse fans, could taste a second National Championship. Jim Boeheim took an unranked team at the beginning of the season and turned them into one of the top college basketball teams in America. Now, Syracuse was done. Finished. Eliminated. Victims at the hands of Butler. It was at that moment that my disdain for Butler came to fruition.

Since that fateful day, and while watching Butler advance to the National Championship game tonight, I have been in NCAA turmoil. Who do I root for? A part of me cannot forget that Butler, and their young, inexperienced, punk coach, took my team's dreams of a National Title, stomped on them, and spit them on the ground like a pile of sunflower seeds. On the other hand, if Butler does cap a Cinderella season by beating the Duke Blue Devils, then Syracuse lost to the best team in the nation. For some illogical reason, this makes Syracuse's loss to a team that relies on one athlete a bit easier to swallow. Still, this internal conflict has not yet been resolved.

Now enter in a few environmental factors. My husband is of the logic that if Butler wins, Syracuse lost to the best. My brother has put a pox on me and forbids me to root for Duke. All around me, the stars are aligning, whispering softly, "Allison, root for Butler. You must root for Butler." Personally, I want to shoot those stars out of the sky with a BB gun.

In the end, the best team will win tonight. Will that team be Butler? No one will know for at least for a few more hours. Will I be rooting for Butler? That may never be known.