Odds Stacked Against You

All I can say to start off this blog, is THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!

As a BCIT student, teachers seemingly think that their class is the only class going on, yet we are partaking in nine. So needless to say with this semester's end within arms reach, I am a little overwhelmed. But do not fear, Lippin' Off will not disappoint.

The first few days of spring have now dawned upon us, the sun is out, its deep into March, and as sports fans, you know what that means; NCAA March Madness. The college basketball tournament carrying sixty-four teams to bring your college to basketball supremacy. The way this tournament works once you have qualified, when you win you move on, if you lose ONE game, you are eliminated. At the beginning of this tournament the teams are placed into seeds in divisions. What this creates is a betting man's nightmare. It also means that it is a script written for Cinderella stories and upsets for the top touted schools.

The tournament creates a bracket, and fans bet on it, or just fill their bracket out for fun, which sometimes involve incredible prizes in the sum of money.



As you can see, the bracket is a little overwhelming at first, but if you have paid attention all season long to these college teams, the perfect bracket is doable.

Note: Only 6 times in the sixty-four team format has a #1 seed came out of the tournament victorious.

This year though, in the great words of LeBron James, we saw not one, not two, but three, major upsets in the first two days. Usual top competitor schools Duke, Ohio State and Oklahoma University were all taken down in the first round of this years tournament in these upsets.

Whether or not you are a basketball fan, you can appreciate a good ol' upset on the hardwood, gridiron, diamond, or the ice. These games go against the written script, and it is like watching a movie end in a way you never imagined.


For the teams and players that were supposed to win this game it creates a bitter feeling of disbelief. The fans, standing in the crowd, hands on top of their head, jaw on the floor, not knowing what to do with themselves, it no longer becomes just a game of basketball, their world comes tumbling down in their teams loss. It becomes a very difficult scenario for the coach of the team, but Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski "Coach K", was probably well prepared for a scenario such as this due to the fact that he has been head coaching this team since the year 1980. I don't believe that any one is really prepared for an upset, and that also goes for the surprised winning team as well.

As for Mercer University, the team that upset Duke in the first round, it becomes one of the greatest days of the young men's lives. That includes the players, the coaches, the parents, and all the supporting fans who are positively affected. It also becomes the easiest, most exhilarating post-game speech for coach Bob Hoffman. There's nothing else to say to your players and staff other than, for a lack of a better term, holy Toledo we did it! As a lower seeded team, it becomes an opportunity of a lifetime to be in the tournament, and becomes a low risk, high reward situation.

As for the next round, who knows if this Mercer University will do anything afterwards, but beating one of the highest seeded teams in the tournament becomes a decent accomplishment on its own.

I do not have a big upset that sticks out to me, other than this year when Canadian ice dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue were robbed of the gold medal at the Sochi winter Olympics. I could write till the cows come out about it, but I'll let radio host Sid Sixeiro describe it for you.

http://youtu.be/wh4kECZiXyM

I will forever be grateful for my friend Meghan for showing me this video, please take the time to watch it and enjoy one of the best rants you may ever endure.

I would really like to hear you're favourite, or I guess you're least favourite upset in sports history. Post a comment below, or find me on twitter and send me your thoughts.

https://twitter.com/t_lip17