Question of the Day

Why me?

That is today's question and, truthfully, the one I've been asking myself since Sunday evening when my worst 2008 college basketball fear* became reality. As I predicted in the last post, Memphis and Texas were, indeed, placed in the same region of the NCAA tournament, making it impossible for both to make it to the Final Four and making Memphis play the lower-seeded Longhorns in Houston, a virtual home game for the 'Horns**.

I can only assume that I have been personally targeted by the Tournament selection committee. How else can this be explained? The task now at hand is to go committee member by committee member until it becomes clear which had the clearest motive to strike out at me in this manner. Did I - knowingly or unknowingly - wrong one of them? Did I run over someone's dog?*** Spill a beverage on a selector? Prank call one of their houses as a mischievous child? Oh, I'll get to the bottom of this, believe you me.

Upon finding the culprit, however, I will be merciful, as the perpetrator of this heinous 2008 college basketball crime - in what I can only assume was a last minute fit of conscience - clearly endeavored to soften the blow by scheduling both teams' first and second round games in Little Rock, AR. They tried to make it okay by making it possible for me to see my two beloved teams in early action, a short drive from Memphis. I don't know if I'll make it to the games, but the fact that the person or persons who harmed me sought to make it right in some way will not be forgotten.

In short, I don't think the selection committee chambers is the place to be acting on old grudges, but maybe that's just me. If others agree, though, then perhaps that little guideline could be shared with future committees and uncomfortable, unfortunate situations like this may be avoidable in future years.

* In the grand scheme of things, this isn't that big a deal. That's why the very specific category of worst fear was necessary. I mean, it's not like I'm crazy! Or paranoid.

** This all assumes that both teams advance to the Elite 8, which is not a given. They both have difficult games to play to get there and nothing is being taken for granted. It's just that according to seeding, they are the two teams most likely to make it to that game.

*** Not likely. Otherwise, I'm certain the staff here at ZiggyBackRide would have uncovered and reported that story in the "Me and My Purple Car" series of posts from October of 2007.