Postgame Press: Sister Jean and a cause

March Madness has truly lived up to its name this year.There have been upsets, overtime and last-second shots in abundance. There is one Cinderella team that has caught many a fan’s heart: Loyola University Chicago.The Ramblers are a No. 11 seed and are slated to play in the Final Four on Saturday, only the fourth No. 11 seed ever to do so. While many factors have contributed to their success, one of them is a woman named Sister Jean.

Sister Jean is the chaplain for the Loyola-Chicago basketball team and has found stardom in its tournament run. She is known for her appearance, as well as her quick and sharp wit.Oh, and she is 98 years old. She is shown on TV more often than not and has become an icon for this year’s March Madness. She has taken on a role that I love in sports: a cause.

A win is a win, but a win is worth so much more when it is "for" something. The most common expression I know illustrating this is the story of George Gipp at Notre Dame. When Gipp lay on his deathbed at just 25, he told his coach to "win just one for the Gipper."The quote was used to motivate Notre Dame to an unlikely win over Army. Maybe the team outplayed Army and would have won anyway, but maybe what they needed was extra motivation — a cause — to win.

A similar story comes from the 2013 NCAA men's basketball tournament.Louisville player Kevin Ware broke his leg in one of the grossest freak accidents in sports. I do not care to describe it, but if you have a strong stomach, feel free to look it up on YouTube (not recommended). When he broke his leg, even as he was being taken off of the court, he told his team to win.For the next week, he continued to tell his teammates to focus and capture the championship title for him.They did and Ware got to cut down the net and receive a ring with the rest of the team (though Louisville's win has since been vacated).

Causes go beyond players and coaches, such as with the Yankees post-9/11.After such a disaster, the Yankees came out with a cause and made it to the World Series despite falling behind in a playoff series to the Oakland Athletics, one of the greatest regular-season teams of all time. The Yankees fought back for the cause: showing America that in times of struggle, the country would stay strong. The city that had just been attacked came out swinging (pun intended), and that was a cause worth fighting for.

A team with a cause is dangerous to face because it has something for which to win. I do not know if Loyola-Chicago is going to win on Saturday (although I sure hope they do). What I do know is that the team wants to win for Sister Jean as much as they want to win for themselves.