Here at Rules of the Game, we aren't limited to simply analyzing rules. We can also create some of our own. So for the first time in Rules of the Game history, I am adding a rule to sports fandom:
At the end of March Madness, it is mandatory that you stick around to listen to "One Shining Moment."
There is little argument that March is the best month on the sporting calendar. No other sporting event in the world has the drama and ecstasy of the NCAA Tournament.
The sports world loves being corny. There are the epic monologues — all of which I am convinced are read by James Earl Jones — that stations run before big games. There are the Disney World commercials and the ceremonial coin flips, puck drops and first pitches. But nothing compares to "One Shining Moment."
"One Shining Moment" is a song written by David Barrett and sung by a variety of people. From the time that I've been old enough to appreciate it, it was always sung by Luther Vandross, who passed away not long after recording it. CBS plays it at the very end of their broadcast of the NCAA Championship Game, after the nets have been cut down and much of the country has gone to sleep. But staying up is worth the lack−of−sleep hangover the following morning.
As the music starts, the accompanying video collage starts out with some shots of the crowds, the bands and the cheerleaders. Then once the lyrics begin, the video goes along with it: "The ball is tipped, you're running for your life, you're a shooting star."
The song is such an emotional roller coaster that my girlfriend compares me watching it to a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert. When it peaks, players are jumping and celebrating; when it hits its lows, tears and heartbreak are instead on display. Most importantly, when the instrumental solo comes up, it means only one thing: buzzer−beater time. You get to see the big shots from the tournament and the live calls that accompanied them.
Finally, the last part of the song is dedicated to the game that ended just an hour earlier, and as the final "One Shining Moment" is sung, the winning team is shown in celebration, forever enshrined in history.
Now, I may be for a sucker for nostalgia, but I'm not sure I have ever made it through the song dry−eyed. The song condenses the greatest month of sports into four minutes, and the result is perfection. I may sound like a groupie for a boy band, but you have to trust me on this one.
Perhaps what makes it so special is that you only get it once a year. It is not uncommon for me to await it more than the game come Championship Monday (let's be honest, the best days of the Tournament happen weeks before the final).
Yet this past year, CBS did its best to ruin the integrity of the enterprise. The network replaced Vandross with Jennifer Hudson, a corny sports moment equivalent of giving Snooki the lead role in a remake of "Titanic" (1997). To top it off, the station kept showing video of her singing during it, leaving even less time for highlights.
I can only hope that CBS doesn't make the same mistake this year, as I'm not sure I could take that two years in a row.
If you are already a March Madness fanatic, I implore you to give "One Shining Moment" a chance. If you are less into the tournament, then just wait for the montage, and maybe it will convince you to watch it in its entirety next year. You may be up an extra hour, but for that one (shining) moment, it's all worthwhile.
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