March Madness in Miami County

The committee has made their decision, the 64 teams have been announced. The world will soon start to cheer, to wager, and to argue, but they will all get the recognition and fame they deserve.
The teams have worked all winter, grueling hours of practice, aggressive competition. Physical and mental preparation, practice, effort and results. They are all winners, even if not the top seed.
Their coaches and managers believe in them. They brag to the press and fans about their teams; often while needing to be arbitrators of conflicts and disciplinarians behind the scenes.

Many of them have been there, done that. Other coaches never had what it took to be a champion themselves; but all excel at bringing out the best in those who will perform on the boards.
The divisions are artificial attempts at segregating and spreading top talent around to maximize the excitement and offer more chances to win, and more brackets to let others win (we can't call it losing), because at this level, everyone is a winner.
Every team member, even those that warm the team bench for the big one will have the satisfaction of being there when it happened. Being part of a winning team is a feeling of overwhelming achievement that comes from being part of that ethereal immeasurable experience of sportsmanship, teamwork, togetherness and partnership.
The media frenzy will build to a fever pitch. The gym floor will rock with hip-hop music beating a rhythmic tune as fans bob and weave, cheer and laugh. The bleachers will be pounding. The rafters shaking. The rush is on. Parents, siblings and friends will be intermingled through the crowd - all cheering for their players and teams.
The cameras will flash in the cavernous hall, ineffectually attempting to strobe freeze the racing, blurring motion. In the hallways, Vendors will be hawking memorial, commemorative, gaudy and the merely colorful remembrances in 100% cotton. Funky looking hats, collectors wearing dozens of different enamel team pins, glossy yearbooks, souvenir program guides.
The American Dietetic Association would do more than frown, they would outright blanch at the unhealthy assortment of salt and nitrites wrapped in white bread and slathered with a red or yellow condiment that our government and the Heinz corporation has sought to classify as a vegetable serving.
Maybe the purple colored version has more fresh tomatoes. But the real action will come on the floor. I love to see the imaginative plays that separate the mundane from the superior. I know folks who just love to see colorful costumes amid the backdrops of action. Some teams seem to be better at the long ball, while others rack up points in the close and short game. Some teams have a few really good players with a supporting cast; while the ones I like are more balanced and even, with everyone contributing to the win. March Madness is more than a few teams playing a game.
It's an obsession for handicappers, and a driving force that generates post-tournament discussions, debates, challenges and retro-vision (the new name for hindsight).
On March 24th, the dozens of Regional Destination Imagination teams, many sponsored by the Troy Noon Optimist Club, will meet at Edison Community College to show us their stuff. The marathon day will start at 8 and end with awards in the gym at 5pm.
Since admission is free, come on over and see teams create a radio drama complete with outrageous commercial. Experience a serendipitous event that transforms their invention. Build a balsa structure to hold enormous weight. Design and build robotic flying airplanes. Perform a play under unusual constraints with a significant touch or creativity.
It will be a fascinating show of creativity, imagination, science, engineering, drama and theatrics.

The winners will go on to State competition in April, and from there to the world tournament in Knoxville in May. In this event, judges look for teamwork not stardom. Creativity, not jumping prowess determines the winner. Intelligent problem solving counts for more than three point foul shots. A cohesive theatrical hand-off wins more points than a dribbling pass. It's poetry in motion, song and dance in fluid action.

It's Destination Imagination. What great sport!
Thankfully, there won't be a basketball in sight. It will be an event to remember. Hey, what did you think I was talking about?

Leib Lurie is a Troy resident, Optimist Club member and CEO of OneCall Now. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net