Big Upsets

As most of you know, March madness has begun, and it has started with a bang. Michigan state, who was the no. 2 seed and  "The Spartans were the most popular bet to win the NCAA tournament at the Westgate SuperBook in both money and number of tickets after the bracket was released." according to ESPN, lost to Middle Tennessee, a no. 15 seed.

Yet, After they won, they were relatively calm after such a massive upset. Their celebrations seemed to be the result of a mid-season victory and not an earth-shattering upset. As it turns out, they thought that they were going to win long before the game. Senior Guard Jaqawn Raymond stated, "We're not surprised at all. We knew, if we just played our game, what the outcome would be."



So, Why were the players so confident going into a game that, according to the 97.8 percent of people who had Michigan winning in the first round of their bracket, they should have lost? One reason could be the improved team bonds created on their trip to the Bahamas, or their victory in the Great Alaska Shootout in November.

Their turning point during the season though most likely came from Giddy Potts suffering a concussion in a game with Western Kentucky, which they lost 78-72. After this game, the team was forced to come together, which they did, and so, were able to win the C-USA tournament two weeks later. They will not shift focus towards their unexpected second round match-up with Syracuse on Sunday.

 But the Middle Tennessee victory was not the only upset, at least for those living near Lexington Kentucky. The UK Wildcats also had an upset, losing to Indiana 67 to 73. This was bad news for anyone near the Big Blue University who had the Cats moving on to the second round match ups.

We'll see how the next few games play out with 2 teams expected to make it much further out of the competition so soon.

Sport's Destructive Side

Sports foster many good characteristics in people. Sportsmanlike conduct, teamwork, perseverance, and competitive nature are all great characteristics to instill in people. There is a downside, however. Team sports can also create a sense of team pride that can have harmful affects similar to that of extreme nationalism. A dehumanization for opposing teams, blind support of team views and actions, and an unhealthy way of dealing with people of different cultures and nationalities.

Just like nations do in war, supporters of sports teams will dehumanize the enemy teams. This allows them to have strong feelings of hatred and inflexibility. I've seen it time and time again at a variety of games where a heroic feat achieved by the supporters team is considered a dirty foul if achieved by their enemy. The same can be said about calls made by the ref. When they favor the supporters team, it's a good call, but if not, then it is a bad one. Now, I'm not saying that fans should root for the other team, or like it when they play well. But there is some understanding that needs to be had when dealing with opponents.

Love for a team can lead to blind support of their actions. An extremely exaggerated example of this would be Germany and the Nazi's. The nationalism that Adolf brought to the country allowed him to get away with so much, because the people felt a love for their nation, and so were more willing to not be critical of their government, or examine what they were really doing. The same can be said of extreme supporters of a team. Many of their faults, or negative actions and viewpoints, are more willing to be overlooked.

Lastly, the way a fan treats the sport can have negative affects on how they interact with individuals of different cultures and nationalities. Again, this is in more extreme cases. If someone were to hate a team simply because that is what they are supposed to do, it creates bad habits. For example, of you live in Lexington, you are supposed to support UK, and if you support UK, you are supposed to hate Louisville. This mindset can carry over to national views. I live in the USA, therefore, I hate people living in the Middle East, I hate people living in the Middle East, therefore I hate anyone who is Muslim.

I'm not saying that sports shouldn't be competitive, or that a fan can't be a super fan. What I am saying, is that sports should be something that benefit society, not promote negative ways of dealing with confrontation, people, and cultures.