This will be an unusual March for us here at the Big Five.
We always presume that there will be a team from this area in the NCAA Men's Final Four. And why not? Since 1986, this will be just the fifth year that neither Duke nor Carolina (in 1991 both were there) has made it all the way to the final weekend of the season. As a matter of fact, I came to WRAL in June 1971, and in just 12 times since then have neither Duke, North Carolina nor N.C. State made a Final Four appearance.
Our station preparations for this year were in place. We have had so many people who have gone through this before that it was really just going over past plans -- what had worked and what hadn't. We have wonderful, experienced people at our station who know so well what they're doing. It's events like this that we live for.
I believed at the start of the tournament that Duke and Carolina had the best shots with State an outside chance. Our news department had already gone through several meetings and since this was an old hat to us, we were ready.
After the first weekend with the elimination of the Heels and Pack, Duke became the focus. The Blue Devils were the top seed in the entire tournament and they were very much favored to go to their 11th Final Four under Mike Krzyzewski.
Our crews for the Final Four in Indianapolis were already set -- both news and sports -- and those who would be a part of that coverage were excited. Our Final Four specials were already planned for Friday March 31, and if Duke made it to the championship, an 8.30 p.m. pre-game special on April 3. Also, we were all set to do live coverage of the team's return on Tuesday, April 4.
Of course, now all of this has gone by the wayside when Duke was upset by LSU, but that is the nature of this business. You always prepare and are ready. There's always a lot of extra work involved.
For instance, Debra Morgan, who would have anchored our news coverage from Indy, had already worked long and hard on stories that were in the can, which now won't be used -- and that can be frustrating. But since you won't see them, I can tell you that if Deb did them, they were good.
We had also done the same from a sports angle. But around here, you have to do that -- you must do that -- because the odds are always in favor of a Triangle team making it to the last dance of the big dance. After all, this is college basketball's capital, and you can never take the chance of not being ready. That would be the cardinal sin of the news business.
It's funny how things go. At the start of the season, Duke was just about everybody's pick to make it to the Final Four. They had the two returning senior stars, Redick and Williams, and a highly regarded incoming freshman class. But it's the uncertainty in sports that makes it so exciting, that makes it such a thrilling adventure, that keeps us on the edge of our chairs and our hearts in our throats from early November to the first Monday in April.
You just don't know what's going to happen. On paper and with their record, it looked like Duke all the way, but as the cliché goes on any given day or night, anything can happen. Many times you don't believe that, but it's just that little bit of doubt, that little voice telling us "you never know" that keeps us watching and always hoping.
Sometimes, it happens in mysterious ways; sometimes, it's a funny bounce or an incredible shot or good players making great plays or great players doing the impossible. And sometimes it's great players having off nights or young teams playing great defense.
But most of all, it's human beings who are not perfect, but hoping to be perfect under incredible pressure, playing their hearts out and wearing them on their sleeves, playing a game that has us all mesmerized, taking us on a roller coaster journey, toying with our emotions.
It's March and to many it's the best time of the year. You never know what you'll find at the end. That's why they play the game.
