A Bond Beyond March Madness

The glimmer of fame that trophies and awards bring is fleeting. Rings and watches can be lost, names will be forgotten, records will be surpassed, but what survives eternally are the memories that make up connections, the impact you have had on the lives of people, from the ones you love to those you never knew, and how you feel in regards to the way you went about your existence. What are the achievements of the individual when compared to the success of the many? If a person competes to capture the title of the greatest or primarily for self-interest, then it cannot be said to be everlasting. For all people speak differently of the same things, and no human, as revered as he or she may be, has ever done something of true significance on his or her own.

If you want to get ahead in life then you have to look out for yourself. You have to see everyone as a threat to the well being of your future family; you have to think of all individuals as competition that need to be uprooted in order for you to thrive, and you have to believe whole heartedly in the primordial phrase eat or be eaten ... or, so we are lead to believe.

To those kept at bay by the invisible social barrier that is the Division 1 label, the inter workings of such a venture may seem nothing more than a group of oversized barbarians coming together to put an orange rubber ball through an elevated metal rim. While basketball is exactly that in the most basic sense, what people rarely choose to see is what truly makes these years as a player well spent.

Expending thousands of hours in order to inch nearer to a goal will bring people closer, but laughing and struggling is what brings people together. We all have goals and ambitions that we believe will bring us a sense of everlasting satisfaction and purpose, but it is the people and memories that occupy the space between that make the struggle bearable. It's knowing that you aren't where you want to be but feeling content regardless due to words of encouragement from one of your brothers who understands what you are experiencing. It's laughs shared by the group over nothing that can alter your mentality and change a very human woe into a sense of community acceptance innately desired by all people. The rarely acknowledged ability to make others feel that they are a part of the family without forcing kindness or adhering to stereotypical team gestures is what gives this collection of individuals the genuine feeling of being a team.

Naturally displayed from time to time are infuriating shows of ignorance and selfishness that are simply the mark of us beings called humans; but to accept, forgive, and carry on is what makes the group a family. To understand that winning together is not great because of the trophies and recognition, but rather for the fact that as a group, you dedicated precious limited earthly hours, to create a bond that allows you access to the realization that what truly is most important in life are the bonds themselves.