I don't know about each of you, but I look forward to the month of March for several different reasons. To start, the temperatures start to get a little warmer but we are not into the dreaded Texas summer heat yet. Second, the days start to get longer. While we do lose one hour of sleep for daylight savings, it is great to have more sunshine at the end of the day. Furthermore, I love seeing everything start to turn green and grow new life in our yards and flower beds.
But I really look forward to what NCAA basketball calls “March Madness.” March Madness selects the top 64 or so teams in basketball. Four different brackets are set up with teams ranked from #1 to #16. Once the tournament rankings are set, millions enroll in the annual college course of "Bracketology." Ok, ok, I'm exaggerating a little on that point, but millions of folks around the country really do fill out their brackets and pick who they think will win each game and ultimately make it to the Final Four and then the national championship. While a #16 team has never beaten a #1 team, a few #15 teams have beaten #2 teams and plenty of #13 teams have beaten #4 teams.
I guess what I am saying is you never know who is going to win and plenty of underdogs rise to the occasion and win. This is what I love about March Madness. It is madness to see who will win and who will be upset.
Back in 2011, there was quite an upset that I won't forget. The Lady Baylor Bears had the best player in the country in Brittany Greiner. If you remember, Brittany’s game was excellent inside and out. She could even dunk. The Lady Baylor Bears were perceived to be the best team in women's college basketball.
However, the Lady Aggies basketball team had a different idea of who should win the national championship that year. As far as any expert was concerned, the Aggies were the underdogs and weren't even picked to make it out of the beginning stages of the tournament. However, they went on to win the national championship. While the Aggies may have not had the best player, they had the best team for that year in the tournament.
This reminds me of our role in healthcare. As each patient walks into our hospital or clinic, it is not about just one individual, it is about the team caring for each patient. We are so much stronger as a team, and serving together helps us reach our full potential.
Talk soon, Jason