Pride of Man and March Madness

The appeal of March Madness is far-reaching and proudly American.  The fact that any team has a “chance” to win represents the underdog mentality that is so captivatingly endearing, mirroring the layman’s own attempt at winning his/her bracket pool.  Not all teams are created equal, but all teams have an equal opportunity.  We love that in America.  Boot straps man, boot straps.  We love the tournament because we love projecting how right we’re going to be, and once we’re proven wrong, we love to recall how right we could (should) have been.* 

*Last Monday I told my roommate that I had a strong gut feeling that Lehigh was going to beat Duke.  I did not pull the trigger, and have been bemoaning my lack of faith ever since. 

Predicting the tournament is appealing because it feeds our desire to be all-knowing, and if knowledge is indeed power, then all-power appears to be just within our reach.  This, of course is certainly ridiculous.  But it’s funny because a lot of people fill out a lot of brackets.  And I know that most people would not suggest that their bracket would survive the flames of perfection.  But there is still that brief moment after I get done filling out my bracket, before the second guessing creeps in, where I take a step back to admire pronged beauty, and I think, “Oh my gosh.  I’m a genius.” But the genius for all of us is short lived as no one has ever filled out a perfect bracket (the Internet told me). 

I believe this to be the work of a divine hand.  Predicting the tournament has a Tower-of-Babel potential, and the only remedy is for God to ensure that no one will ever have a perfect bracket.  If anyone ever does get a perfect bracket they should be terrified.  “Ah sweet my bracket is perf- OH DEAR LORD MY ARM HAS LEPROSY!”  There would be ramifications; God is not mocked. 

This mindset however, is not unique to college basketball.  We try to predict and project many circumstances and scenarios only to see our expectations fall somewhere within the range of short of exceeded, but never exactly as what we thought.  But if we are going to try to predict how many kids we have, or what type of job we get, or what food we’ll eat for the day, we might as well make it as fun, competitive and exciting as college basketball.  I vote office pools for everything.  Gambling isn’t a sin if you win.  (Casting lots is in the Bible.) 

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9