Atlanta, GA

Another college hoops season has come and gone. I’ve been glued to the tube, watching as many games as possible. The Final Four was not the most exciting as there were no buzzer beaters or last second heroics. But, it showed me why I watch college sports. On my quest to find passionate people, I have felt their energy and intensity. As I watched March Madness, I could see the same thing in some of the athletes on the court. And in the fans.

I’ve also watched some of the ladies Final Four, which I normally don’t do. Again, their passion is unmistakable. I think theirs might even be more pure, because they don’t have NBA riches waiting for them. The money factor can ruin it. It seems to do so in the NBA, where there are only a handful of players who bring it every night, but even the fans are less enthusiastic.

I ran a 42 person bracket and led for the first two weekends. I actually led pretty handily. Then I took a punch to the gut. My beloved North Carolina Tar Heels were on their way to advancing to the Final Four and cementing me in the top 3 of the bracket. The top 3 get paid. With 7 minutes to go, the Heels were up 10 on Georgetown. Then their basket froze over, going 1 for 23 down the stretch. The Heels lost. My team went down and it turned out, so did my bracket.

With Florida winning it all over Ohio State, I was bumped into the dreaded fourth place, just out of the money. Part of me would rather finish 10th and never having a shot at the cash, rather than being teased by the images of my unclaimed winnings.

Even better was the email I got from the winner. Jeff down in Florida took 1st prize, saying that the tournament was a great bonding time for he and his 10 year old daughter, Kelsey. She had picked half the bracket as well as the winner. So my bracket got busted by a ten year old. I can only smile about that. And I wonder how cool it will be to be 10 and to get the check that she will be getting.

There is always next year for my Heels and for my bracket.

What I learned from this year’s tournament and winner is about the power of a cohesive team. As in business, a motivated team will defeat a few talented, motivated individuals. Florida had three guys who could have left school after last year for the riches of the NBA. These guys came to school at the same time. They liked each other. They liked their school. They liked their team. They told the NBA to wait a year, they wanted to see about repeating. And they did.

You could tell it in the pregame interviews and the postgame celebration. They were a true team. They won it for themselves, but they also won it for each other. When you can harness that power, great things will happen.