My Personal Connection to Sports
By Jared Rosenthal
College basketball teams throughout the recent past have utilized the method of recruiting one-and-done players, but one team in particular that avoided this trend and experienced great success was the Wisconsin Badgers’ men’s basketball team of 2015.
Having experienced a heartbreaking loss in 2014 to the No. 8 seeded Kentucky Wildcats, the motivation to come back stronger (and win) was instantaneous. Not only did this loss ignite a visible bond between teammates such as Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, Josh Gasser, Nigel Hayes, and Bronson Koenig, but it sparked a bond within my own family. Due to the talent and camaraderie that Wisconsn showcased each night, this team has impacted me the most of the teams that I have ever supported and provided me with my greatest connection to the sports world.
Each week of the Badgers’ 2015 season which ended with a record of 36–4, I obsessed over upcoming games constantly. I would text my dad daily about our chances of beating opponents, talk to my grandpa about the dynamic duo of Kaminsky and Dekker, which would be a lethal combination for NCAA tournament games, Snapchat my cousins to come over for the games and not forget to bring cheese to our watch parties (a Wisconsin superstition), and, finally, call my mom to ask her if my red-and-white-striped overalls were washed for the game. With each victory, my family and I grew more content with the team, which trickled down to us having a unified faith and elevated excitement each time we saw each other.
My family is set up in a challenging manner due to our extremely different schedules and distance from each other. For instance, during this Badger Renaissance, there were days when I was on my way home from baseball winter workouts 25 miles west of my house, while Ira, my grandpa, would be trekking out to my house after theater rehearsals near the city of Chicago, which was located about 40 miles south of my house. Furthermore, my cousins from Naperville, Ill., were heavily involved in gymnastics, and my sister was an avid figure skater, yet my family was able to communicate effectively in order meet for the games.
As Wisconsin cruised through its season, the hype from the nation rose rapidly. Though Wisconsin lost to Maryland in their final game of February, they rallied to win six consecutive games going into the NCAA Tournament. More specifically, my favorite moment of the season occurred when the Badgers defeated Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game at the United Center in Chicago. Not only did they beat a Final Four Michigan State team in overtime, and I was able to watch the Spartans’ Coach Tom Izzo cry his eyes out, but my family decided to attend this game! Uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.; you name them and they were there!
Most specifically, the most important element to this game pertained to the personal connection I made with my parents. As my parents sat beside me, I developed a comfort level for talking about topics outside of basketball with them: social media, health, and friendship advice. By strengthening this relationship, I was able to become more aware of the impact that actions had over words. This message ultimately aided me in handling commitment-related drama with my friends in the midst of aggravating, junior-high cliquiness with my peers at school.
As March Madness approached, my family set up a pool and created brackets in order to compete with each other to potentially win money. Although March Madness can create toxic environments in many households, each of my family members — including myself — selected Wisconsin to win the national title. Because we were all on the same page with the champion, we only faced a few minor arguments in the earlier rounds. Though March Madness was the catalyst for the accelerated pace of my family’s bonding, the Elite 8 matchup against Arizona brought my family to a whole other level of closeness that I never envisioned.
Interestingly, the 13 of us decided to travel to Steamboat, Co. to go skiing over a school break. Within the first minute of arrival at the airport, the most essential question pertained to the location of where we would watch the game. Most families would be concerned about transportation to the mountain, renting procedures for safety gear or the nearest restaurant, but my family and I had a totally different mind-set.
When my entire family hopped out of the hotel’s shuttle, we immediately stormed the front desk to ensure that we had access to watch the game; they assured us that our rooms would be able to stream the game. Even though my family was split into four separate rooms, we all piled into my grandparents’ room for tip-off, hovering over the mini-TV to watch Stanley Johnson’s fierce Wildcats lose to our vicious Badgers. Though Arizona was talented, Bo Ryan’s Badgers clearly demonstrated superiority in each facet of the game. Wisconsin out-hustled Arizona on each 50/50 ball, which could be attributed to the energy that Zak Showalter contributed to the team. When the end of the second half was nearing, Dekker’s fadeaway 3-pointer generated Wisconsin’s final push to carry them to the Final Four.
When the final buzzer sounded, my cousins and I started running around the hotel in our badger overalls waving our turtlenecks around like a towel while screaming in unison “WE’RE GOIN’ TO INDY!” up and down the halls.
With Kentucky on the horizon, we all sensed nerves rising to heights greater than the Burj Khalifa. Not only did Kentucky have more than five future NBA players on its roster, but the Wildcats were undefeated. You may think that this fact fazed my family, but we knew that this Wisconsin team was built for redemption.
Fortunately, my dad surprised me by buying tickets for the two of us to witness this historic game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis! With each second passing, I could not fathom that I was watching my team battle to be in the national title game. My dad and I believe that we contributed to the team by providing it with nonstop spirit. As the game wound down, Wisconsin pulled away and knocked off John Calipari’s undefeated Wildcats, 71–64! Our first reaction was to FaceTime my family back in Chicago, and show them the vibrant crowd; we had officially fulfilled our goal of redemption. Though we hoped to beat Duke in the championship, we ultimately came up just short.
I will never forget the journey it took to come back stronger. This journey taught me that failures are purely stepping stones and that we must hold our heads high to stay focused on our goals. Furthermore, these experiences taught me that my family was more than people with the same blood as me; I connected to my relatives in ways that I never thought possible and learned the importance of family. These priceless moments have taught me a great deal and will stick with me until the day I die.
