March Sadness

Growing up in an Irish Catholic household, I was taught to love the University of Notre Dame. Of course, I decided to cheer against my Father because I loved The University of Delaware Blue Hens. I was too young to understand that those teams never played each other and our mascot was an extinct bird that just looked cool. Going into the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament there were plenty of high expectations for many teams. Unfortunately, Cinderella showed up and some 14 seed teams beat some of the 3 seeds to mess up a lot of brackets.  Most top seeded teams and favorites kept winning to equal out things and then here came Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is coached by Mike Brey, a man that used to coach for the University of Delaware. After a 99-51 career record and two NCAA apearances, Brey decided to take the job at Notre Dame in 2000. In his first three years he lead Notre Dame to NCAA Tournament births with a Sweet 16 appearance in 2003. After Notre Dame played and beat Butler, Brey was asked why he had such a big smile on his face. He answered, “because I have a great team”. Nobody had known that he just found out that his Mother had passed away after a long illness before the start of the Butler game. The team learned the news a half hour after the game ended. “Just like coach to always put us first”, as Senior Pat Connaghton had a tear running down his face. Coach Brey had kept this quiet so that his team could concentrate without any distractions. Not an easy thing to do during one of the most exciting times in your life, or one of the saddest.

Now I find myself getting behind Notre Dame Men’s Basketball team as they run through this Tournament. I believe the players will step up and play their hearts out for their beloved coach. Turns out it taught me a lesson as well. Always listen to your parents and family when they cheer for a certain team. I’m hoping the “Luck of the Irish” will continue on and this team can do something very special for their coach. The heart of a Blue Hen will never die and now the Irish have an angel guiding them to victory.

Tim Sullivan