Nervous Yet?

The beauty of an RSS reader allows me to read my hometown newspaper with ease. (shout out to Carl for helping figure out all the little kinks...oh and Happy Anniversary to you and your lovely wife). Considering tonight's grudge match between the UCLA Bruins and the Florida Gators, I found this article quite interesting. It's certainly a lot of things that, if given the chance, I would love to tell any athlete playing on his/her biggest stage. Cherish it because it typically only happens once. 40 minutes of play clock left. Don't miss a thing. Take it all in.

P.S. Congratulations to the STUDENT-ATHLETES of George Mason University's men's basketball team. Thanks for the ride and for reminding all of us obsessed fans just how much fun this game is supposed to be.

Players must cherish this game
By DOUG FERNANDES
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

INDIANAPOLIS - An open letter to the players for Florida and UCLA:

Nervous yet?

You should be. There should be a feeling in the middle of your stomach, that can't-shake-it-loose, jumpy-all-over feeling.

A feeling of excitement. A feeling of nervousness.

A feeling that, in just a few hours, you will be playing in the biggest basketball game of your young lives.

The biggest basketball game the NCAA has to offer. It's your Super Bowl, World Series and Stanley Cup final. You have every right to feel as you do.

You know what's at stake. You realize the public perception that's formed by the difference of a few points on a scoreboard.

One team is remembered as a champion, a year's worth of bragging rights as the finest college basketball team in the land.

The other isn't remembered. Who did North Carolina beat last year? Can't remember, can you? That's just the way sports are. Illinois is the answer. (Leann's note...I knew this one. I can also tell you that Michigan State was the team that beat Florida in the 2000 Championship in the RCA Dome.)

Surely you can't wait for the game to start. True, you've been treated like royalty your four days here. The toast of Indianapolis.

But those questions, one after the other, posed by people you've never seen before, probably never will see again, got monotonous in a hurry.

You've sampled the mints left on your hotel room pillow. The bed wasn't soft enough, the shower didn't get hot enough, and the maids never left enough of those really big towels.

You want to get home.

But you want to return a winner.

As this point, there's not much a guy who never played high school basketball can tell you.

Except this:

Enjoy tonight. Enjoy the moment.

Every available one.

Professional athletes say it all the time. Those who come oh-so-close to having champagne sprayed in their face but become wet only through the moisture of their own tears.

It doesn't happen automatically. You don't start a season with the simple declaration, "This is our year," then merrily skip to a title.

It takes all the work and dedication and sacrifice your body can muster. You guys know. Only you know what was required to reach this special day.

So enjoy it. Don't be afraid to mimic what several George Mason players did Saturday, just moments before the start of their semifinal game against the Gators.

They looked around the packed RCA Dome stands. Just looked. Took everything in. One player even allowed a small smile to crease his face.

They all knew, in their heart of hearts, they would never get back here again.

You Gators and Bruins, even the younger ones, those expected to carry your programs into the future, do likewise.

Even for a few seconds, listen tonight to your band play.

Watch your cheerleaders pump their fists skyward and scream until hoarse.

See your team manager scurry about, passing out towels and water as though he were standing at the foul line, three seconds left, his team down by a point.

Absorb it all, knowing that it's being done all for you.

Then go out onto the court and play as though it's your final college game. For a few players tonight, it will be.

A couple of hours later, you may be rewarded for your efforts with college basketball's most valued possession.

A national title.

Nervous yet?

You should be.