Why Loyola-Chicago needs to win the NCAA Tournament
by Robert Palatsky
Loyola-Chicago made the NCAA Tournament as an eleven seed. No eleven seed or lower has ever even made the NCAA finals, but it would mean the world if they could somehow win it. It would change the world if they could reach the mountaintop, if the clock never struck midnight on Cinderella.
The Ramblers will face the Michigan Wolverines next Saturday with a berth in the NCAA Championship Game on the line. The winner of that game will battle the winner of Villanova vs Kansas for all the marbles.
When the clock strikes midnight, it means that “Cinderella” has run out of magic, has seen the end of her fairytale, but if you remember, Cinderella ultimately got her happy ending, so why can’t Loyola? They are only the fourth eleven seed to make the Final Four and it would give hope to so many others. They could prove to us, that it truly doesn’t matter the odds and that no matter what you can achieve anything in life as long as you work hard and work together.
If you had asked me in eighth grade if I truly thought I could succeed at a four year school and get my Bachelor’s Degree, I would have said no. I was a “resource kid”, meaning I got extra assistance from teachers and teacher assistants to get through my classes. I had very low self esteem. I still do, but now, thanks to sports stories like Loyola, I now believe I can push through any and all obstacles and achieve my dreams.
That’s what the NCAA Tournament is about. It’s about the underdog, rising above the odds and shocking the world. Only problem is, lately the story doesn’t have a happy ending for underdogs. Nineteen of the last twenty champions have been seeded no lower than #3. How are people supposed to believe they can win when most of the champions are favored to win.
Former NC State Bsaketball coach Jim Valvano taught me to live by six simple words, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up”. He said this at the 2993 ESPY’s knowing that he would die of cancer. Even still, he never stopped fighting and he encouraged me to always fight for everything you get. Loyala Chigao embodies Valvano’s spirit every time they take the court against higher seed who everyone but them thinks is going to knock them out. They always fight and as long as they do, they have just as good a chance to win the title than everyone else. They also are doing for our country now what Valvano’s eventual 1983 NCAA Championship team did. The have brought hope and courage to everyone who reads their story.
Watch this documentary and you’ll see what I mean about bringing hope and courage to America.
It’s time to break the mold. It’s time to rise up and show that the underdog is not just a sob story about how close they came, only to come up short. It’s time to prove that the underdog can, and will rise to the very top of the mountain. When we can see it we can believe it and when we can believe it we will do it.
