The Eve of Judgement Day

Has it ever been okay to get this jacked up for the Final Four? Last year's Final Four was exciting for the sole reason that George Mason was in it. No one cared about Florida, UCLA, or LSU. All of the hype going in was for Mason even though everyone knew they had very little chance at winning the whole thing. This year is a totally different monster. It's hard to know where to start, but somehow it's all been covered. There's the rematch of last year's title game (though this year's matchup promises to be better), the meeting of big, big men, the return to prominence of one of the nation's most prestigious programs, and on and on and on, not to mention the emerging Billy Donavon-Kentucky storyline. It wouldn't be difficult to argue that these four teams are the best four teams in the country. Last year, it wouldn't have been difficult to argue that none of the Final Four teams were among the four best in the country.

That's what makes tomorrow so special. The best are taking on the best. The knock against the NCAA tournament is that it rarely crowns America's best team as champion. Instead, it basically hands the trophy to the pretty good team that gets hot at the right time. This year, the team that emerges with the title will be America's best college basketball team. I am way too jacked up for tomorrow. It's going to be hard to concentrate during my 18-mile run tomorrow because of what awaits me when I finish: the greatest Final Four of my lifetime. I'll have a full recap tomorrow.