And this is why we love March Madness

A few days back in my March Madness post, I wrote about a series of commercials I saw on selection Sunday by Nike that featured highlights of various great tournament performances from the last few years or so. 

The commercial that I have seen the most on air involves a police officer from Illinois who gives a speeding ticket to a driver from North Carolina for doing 36 in a 35 mph zone. The cop is still bitter over UNC's defeat of Illinois in the 2005 championship game...

There is one where a father in Washington State won't speak to his daughters new boyfriend because of what Richard Hamilton did against the Univ. of Washington in the 1998 NCAA Tournament. 

In my favorite spot, and the one that I saw first, a Texas fan is dejected on his daughters birthday because her birthday also marks the anniversary of Carmelo Anthony and the Syracuse Orange ousting Texas in the 2003 Final Four en route to a National Championship that year. 

The common thread here is that these games leave lasting impressions on sports fans. The upsets, the "cinderellas," all of it. Some critics have said that this year's Sweet 16 with the top 12 seeds advancing is anti-climactic, but I think it allows teams to end the debate and prove who really is the best team in the land. You have to beat the best to be the best right? Well, that certainly seems to be the case this season.