March Madness
March Madness provides relief from the winter blues.
Most people focus on their soon-to-be completed NCAA Tournament brackets. If my Kansas State University Wildcats are in the field my interest is high. Others focus on spring break for high school and college students because after that stretch comes a whirlwind finish to their school year.
One of the unsung March Madness events is state basketball season. For Kansas it always comes the second weekend in March (and of course on the time change weekend.)
I’ve always enjoyed covering a team when it goes to a state basketball tournament—a privilege of being in the media and not one to be lightly taken. Countless memories and friendships developed were all at the core of the tournament experience.
This year a high school classmate took her team to the Big Dance.
It was fun to see players go on to their post-high school careers and the true melting pot of playing on a team almost always made these players better at being engineers, pharmacists, accountants, farmers, welders, journalists and other endeavors. In my career I’ve seen many of them become devoted parents and civic- minded individuals who serve on school boards and many volunteer organizations.
While all the teams have dreams of being a state champion, only a handful will accept the top plaque that will be on prominent display at their high school, only a few will experience a downtown parade to celebrate their achievement. Most of us never got an opportunity to play on a state team and there were many more disappointing losses in regional and sub-state contests. Yet each season begins in late November with a Hoosiers’ expectation of winning it all.
Winning at state is all part of a dream that is shared by all players before the season’s first game. Only a few will have that dream completed, but what a wonderful journey it is for all teams and their fans.
Speaking of madness, the winds of recent weeks and the drought of recent months have hit the High Plains are of epic concern to those of us who count on favorable weather to get the growing season off to a good start.
If you live in an agricultural community, the tone of the economy is established by farmers and ranchers. If they perceive the years ahead will be a profitable one they make their spending decisions accordingly. If they are pessimistic, they will keep the purse strings tight until conditions improve.
The High Plains producers are watching it all very closely.
In many regions this is a story that has been experienced before. Not much moisture is forecast in the High Plains over the next week.
A plea to Mother Nature—please feel free to share moisture with all of us.
