I can’t think of a worse thing than four number one seeds in the Final Four … well, maybe watching Kelvin Sampson join me in a Sprint family plan. But outside of that, nothing worse.
Four ones is so bland, blase, mundane, unsurprising. Who wants to see that?
Problem is these guys – Kansas, North Carolina, Memphis and UCLA – have been at or near the top all year: It’s nothing new.
So I looked at my season preview from way back in November, and boy, was I shocked at how close many of my predictions were.
Quite frankly, I had no idea I was THAT good. Tyler Hansbrough good. Eli Manning in the clutch good. You all should be proud and buy me donuts … hehe (Of course, all this ignores my pre-tournament bonehead picks of Duke and Wisconsin in the Final Four, both of which I’ll ignore because I’m trying to block that portion out of my memory. And if you try and tell me different I’ll throw my hands on my ears and sing Dionne Warwick. Badly).
Point is this is really the Final Four we expected not just from the start of the tournament, but from the start of the year. Case in point: Here’s some of my picks before the season, ones mirrored by a number of national pundits and pollsters:
- UCLA beating Memphis for the title (now playing in the national semifinal)
- Kevin Love and Derrick Rose would make more of an impact on their team’s success than any other frosh
- The Final Four would also include Louisville and Georgetown (Hoyas tanked in the tournament, but did win the Big East, and the Cards made the regional final)
- Cream of the crop would also include North Carolina, Tennessee and Kansas
- The Big Ten would be overrated, and Indiana would struggle through coach Kelvin Sampson’s distractions
I’d love to take credit for all this, but the fact is near everyone said the same thing: The teams above were the big dogs, and all lead the pack (although I will take credit for my line about Davidson, one written over four months ago):
“You probably don’t know much about guard Stephen Curry … No matter: Former NBA stud shooter Dell Curry’s son will fire the Wildcats into the NCAAs again, and if you’re looking for the next George Mason, it could be him and his squad”.
So what does all this teach us?
Besides listening to me all the time on everything (and telling me I’m brilliant, witty, charming, attract … wait, they can read my inner thoughts? Damnit – I need a new laptop! Steve Jobs, answer my text messages!)
It means, to paraphrase former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, this season is what we thought it was! And we let it off the hook! (ok, the last part just there for emphasis) As the tournament progressed, even as teams like UConn, Duke, Wisconsin, Drake, and even Georgetown got bumped out, the handful of teams with a legit shot at the title all kept winning.
And us fans kept losing another chance at a more dynamic dance. Sigh.
So now, the final chapter in our boring, predictable season plays out. I picked UNC over Memphis in the season’s opener, although after doubting UCLA, I could easily see the Bruins taking home another title. But no matter who wins, it’ll be another power team winning the tournament, this time having to beat two number one seeds in the process.
Wake me when it’s over.
on Apr 1st, 2008 at 1:02 PM
If this is Cyd–absolutely hilarious coming from the guy who wants Tiger Woods to win every golf tournament. Talk about predictability as an art form.
on Apr 1st, 2008 at 2:30 PM
I’m not so sure what everyone is complaining about with all the #1 seeds making the Final Four…yeah I get it, there’s no Cinderella, no underdog, no George Mason…but how awesome is it going to be to watch the top 4 teams in the country play each other?! Sure it can be nice to see some new blood rather than the traditional powerhouses, but Cinderella stories are for casual fans and advertising bucks…and it wouldn’t be as cool or crazy to see a midmajor tear through to the Final Four if it happened every year…these games should be brutal and competitive as hell, which is what real college hoops fans deserve!
on Apr 1st, 2008 at 4:21 PM
Seeing as this is the first time this has ever happened I would think people would be excited. Almost always when a cinderella makes it this far (and they very rarely do) thye get blown out. These games have the potential to be classics.
on Apr 1st, 2008 at 5:27 PM
Exactly, George. The first two rounds of the tournament are Cinderella’s time, with room for one in the Elite Eight if a team gets hot. The Final Four usually consists of heavyweights; and when a 4 or 5 seed squeaks in, the game is usually a blowout. This group of four is about as accomplished as they come–it should be cool to watch.
on Apr 1st, 2008 at 5:55 PM
“If this is Cyd…” — It’s not. It’s the guy who did the college previews, Sean Jackson.
“cinderella stories are for casual fans” — I think most people watching any popular sport are casual fans, at least when it gets to the point of nationally televised finals. Do you think most people who watch the Super Bowl every year are hardcore football fans? No.
on Apr 1st, 2008 at 10:45 PM
you’re right, joe, most people that watch sports are casual fans and i have no prob with that (money makes the world go round)…but that doesnt mean that come tourney time, I can’t be stoked that 4 legit heavy contenders (who have been playin balls out consistently all season) have a shot at the title…that way, when ucla wins it all, there can be no BS about how they didn’t have to beat the best teams because of upsets in their region
on Apr 2nd, 2008 at 1:42 AM
“Cinderella stories are for casual fans and advertising bucks”.
This doesn’t make sense to me: The ’06 Final Four with George Mason was very low rated, while the ’07 FF – with big names OSU, Florida, Georgetown, and UCLA – saw ratings up 3% and the tournament (which had many fewer upsets than ’06) was up 2%.
As for the casual fans, they were the ones a few years back saying “George who?” and likely not watching. Myself and many die hards loved the George Mason story for how unusual it was. Different is good.
on Apr 2nd, 2008 at 1:03 PM
I agree that people say they like Cinderella but don’t really watch like they will the big names. This tourney has pretty much stunk but with four #1s perhaps the Final Four will be exciting.
on Apr 2nd, 2008 at 8:43 PM
I get you, sean. I don’t know ratings stats regarding tournament viewership, but what I meant is that a Cinderella team seems to get casual fans or non-fans even (who wouldn’t normally know or root for a team like Davdison or G. Mason) interested in the tourney. I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all, I think it’s great and I find it interesting.
Guess I was wrong about “advertising bucks” though so point taken…I just figured if more people were interested and because of the public’s semi for underdogs, more people would watch.
But when Davidson lost and all the favorites won, we get articles ending in “Wake me when it’s over”…seriously? I think its gonna be awesome!…four #1s in the Final Four is “Different” and totally history-making and that is good too.
I enjoyed the G. Mason story too except for Tony Skinn the nuts-puncher…can’t root for that.
on Apr 3rd, 2008 at 9:14 PM
I think you could be right: This can be an exciting Final Four; heck, the FFs with three number ones were awesome (’93 with competitive UNC/KU and UK/Michigan semis, and the Webber T/O final; ’97 with the Arizona win over UK, and ’99 with UConn’s victory over Duke).
I just find the tournament more fun when one unexpected team slips through the draw, and I’m dying to see that 16/1 upset that may never happen.