The Greatest Eight Sports Days of the Year
I had to write a blog before I headed out on PTO. I had to, because my gut overrode my brain on Houston-Illinois. I had to, because I picked the UCONN/Michigan State game incorrectly. I had to, because Michigan WAS better than I thought, and Iowa State folded like a blanket earlier. I had to, because my post that Houston would win the title ages quickly by the day. I have no outline. I have no bullet points. I have only a partial presence, actually, because I will be out of the country viewing the first part on a foreign TV and on a plane during the beginning of the second part. Ah, the irony.
But, let’s get to it. First of all, my two favorite sports days of the year are Final Four Saturday and Masters Sunday. Without a doubt, and, in my head, there is no argument.
Final Four Saturday rewards the four teams who have won four straight games in perhaps the most unique and most exhilarating two weeks of the survive-and-advance mantra that sports can generate. NIL has made the Cinderella obsolete (aside from the occasional 40-minute blip), and the most complete teams usually now make it to the promised land now. But, THAT means that epic games are later on. UCONN, Illinois, Arizona, and Michigan ALL showed us very early signs back in November that they were indeed the best teams in the nation. And, now they face off in Indianapolis in perhaps my favorite four plus hours of hoops of the year. THEN, to add to the uniqueness of the event, the winners will only have TWO days of preparation for the unknown opponent who makes it out of the other side. The buildup for a week is for the Final Four, and the turnaround for hype is minimal for the actual final game. So…cool. The Madness will end with a righteous winner. Who do I think takes it? Well, I said previously that Arizona is the best team on paper, and I think they beat UCONN for the title. But, given the high degree of efficiency both from players and coaches in this group, I wouldn’t be surprised by any of them cutting down the nets.
But, that is only the first three days of the greatest eight days of the year for sports. Then, the focus shifts to the most beautiful sports surface in the world…Augusta National. For people who get tired of the cameras following around Tiger Woods, you are free this year. Instead of Tiger pulling out a driver on the first tee, he is focusing on getting a driver for the actual roads in the world. Moving on from the jokes though. Plus, Tiger is my boy, and I hope he gets better. The pressure of creating the most memorable golf run ever had consequences personally, and although you will be absent this year, Tiger, we all know that the link between you and this golf course is stronger than the problems that you will eventually overcome. Much love, my man.
I have been to Augusta and walked the course. Like the Grand Canyon, pictures don’t do it justice. For people who watch it on TV doubting the greenness of the course and thinking that the television station is using some AI filter, they are not. It is even GREENER in person. It is MORE beautiful than you can dream it is. The flowers are more colorful, and the birds chirp like they are on a script from heaven itself. It is perfection. Oddly, as I learned during my visit there, Augusta, the town itself, is NOT as beautiful as you might think or envision. It is sort of a crap town, and I remember figuring out that there is actually a pawn shop and strip mall RIGHT on the other side of Amen Corner. Sort of crazy that the most beautiful venue in the world is surrounded by ugliness. Ah, the irony.
It is more unique because it is the only golf major that doesn’t rotate. The course is most players’ favorite, and they hope to return to the same course, with the same holes, in the same order, for another run at glory that is irreplaceable. Who cares about what the trophy looks like when you get that snazzy green jacket? The course is a perfect test for players, a perfect visual for TV viewers, and a perfect place to follow the players around utopia. And, the food and drink are cheap (and delicious, as I still dream of the Pimento and egg sandwiches), phones are not allowed on the course to eliminate the technological noise, and some items for remembrance can ONLY be bought AT Augusta. The buildup before the Thursday start is even must-watch TV. Practice rounds matching old friends, rumors of betting on those rounds, the Par 3 contest, etc. I went for a day and ended up keeping 350 pictures of the 700 or so I took. Beauty, history, elegance, nature, and legends all wrapped up in 18 holes. Thursday sets the table and you just can’t LOSE the tournament on that day, Friday is cut day, Saturday is moving day, and Sunday is history. I know that players, who typically are meh about making the cut at other events, desperately want to make the cut in this event, because two more days in heaven really can’t be beat.
When I got back from my practice round visit years ago, my wife asked me if this checks the box on my bucket list. I said “No, babe, because I still have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to go to.”
For this tournament, I will root for my regular golf favorites. Jason Day and Adam Scott.
In this eight day period, you will get either an announcement of new Blue Blood Membership from Illinois, a solidification of a modern legend in Dan Hurley and Alex Karaban, or a return to glory after decades from past blue bloods Arizona and Michigan. Eight days later, after a beautiful week in the pretty section of Augusta, you will get someone putting on the most sought after green jacket on Earth.
It will be funny landing and being across the street from some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and running to find a TV, but I will do that. It will be weird being on a plane while legends are teeing off in Georgia, but I will be back for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday rounds. You? You should enjoy it all on your couch or at a bar, the whole best eight days in the sports year. What a week…