By Dave Davlin
An Excerpt from his keynote presentation of the same name
March Madness® is a term that was first used in 1939 to describe the buzz around the growing popularity of the Illinois High School Basketball Tournament. It was created by IHSA secretary and former high school coach, Henry Porter, who first coined the term in his 1939 essay, “March Madness”.
Then, in 1982, famed sports commentator Brent Musburger used the phrase to describe the NCAA basketball tournament and it took on a life of its own.
For basketball fans, it is one of the most anticipated and most enjoyable times of the year. People from all over the globe look for the “Cinderella team” to emerge and take the world by storm. The stories that come out of this event are incredible and heart-warming. It is a time of celebration, fun, comradery and hope. The world needs March Madness®.
In 2020, “March Madness” took on a new meaning. March and Madness were still applicable terms to describe the events of the month, but celebration, fun and hope were replaced with pandemic, panic and fear. And although the March Madness® of previous years was shared by many, the March Madness of 2020 was shared by all.
The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic demands no reminders. The effects that included massive loss of jobs, loss of investments and retirement accounts, much of the world on lock-down and the overwhelming panic buying are fresh in all of our minds.
Sure, we can contemplate the “whys” of these events and we can look to place blame on leaders and even countries. But, in doing so, we waste valuable time and energy on the real questions that present themselves, “How do we defeat an enemy of this size?”, “How do we compete as underdogs?”, “How do we write our own Cinderella story?”, “How can we find victory at the end of all this madness?”.
For the answers to these questions I go back to an event that took place almost 40 years ago. It was the greatest Cinderella story in NCAA basketball history and the greatest example of how the underdog can find victory at the end of March Madness®.
The date was April 4, 1983 and the event was the NCAA Basketball Championship game. Ironically, the venue for this game had been given the name “The Pit” and was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a city with an elevation of 5200 feet above sea level.
The teams who would be competing in this event could not have been greater polar opposites. The Houston Cougars hailed out of the Southwest Conference and had been given the name, “Phi Slama Jama” because of their athleticism and reputation for being prolific dunkers.
The average height of the Cougars starting lineup was 6 feet 7 and ½ inches. They carried an impressive record of 31 wins and only 3 losses. Houston claimed the Southwest Conference Title by going undefeated in conference play with a conference record of 16-0. They carried a 26-game win streak and averaged 82.4 points per game.
The North Carolina State Wolfpack emerged from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with overwhelmingly, less impressive stats. The average height of the Wolfpack starting lineup was 6 feet 5 inches and their overall record was 25 wins and 10 losses. Even worse, they carried a slightly above .500 record in their own conference with 8 wins and 6 losses. This put them in 4th place in the ACC. During one stretch of the season, the Wolfpack had lost six out of eight games. The team only averaged a lowly 69.4 points per game.
For the championship game, NC State was an 8-point underdog and many believed it would be the biggest blowout in NCAA tournament history.
Ironically, despite their 8-point underdog rating, NC State took an 8-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
But, as expected, Houston came out strong to start the second half and scored 10 unanswered points to take the lead 35-33. At the 3:53 mark Houston stretched their lead to six at 50-44. It seemed like the midnight buzzer was about to sound and NC State’s “Cinderella Story” was about to end.
However, aware of Houston’s history of being poor free throw shooters, NC State intentionally started to foul the Cougars, putting them at the free throw line. This unorthodox strategy worked and NC State cut the lead to 2 points at the 2:25 mark, then tied the game 52-52 with 1:54 remaining.
Forty-nine seconds later, State fouled Houston’s freshmen guard, Alvin Franklin. Franklin missed the front end of a 1 and 1 and NC State took possession and called a timeout with 44 seconds to go in the game.
Following the timeout, NC State went into a delay offense in order to hold for the last shot. With six seconds to go, Thurl Bailey made a dangerous pass to Dereck Whittenburg that was deflected by Houston’s Benny Anders. Whittenburg retrieved the ball with four seconds remaining but found himself more than 30 feet from the basket.
In desperation, Whittenburg let go of a 35-foot jump shot that fell well short of the basket but directly into the hands of State’s Lorenzo Charles who dunked the ball with less than 2 seconds remaining on the clock.
Pandemonium ensued as the unimaginable became reality. The underdog had found a way and in the face of overwhelming odds, North Carolina State University became the 1983 NCAA Basketball Champions.
Let the cutting of the nets begin!
Like the NC State Wolfpack, many of us currently find ourselves facing overwhelming odds. Failure and defeat seem inevitable. The COVID-19 Pandemic that has defined the month of March in the year 2020 has undeniably produced its own form of madness.
So, is there certain defeat in our future? Is it possible to come back from the deficit in which we find ourselves? Where do we turn? Does anyone have answers? Does hope still exist?
Well, maybe there is something to be learned from the 1983 NC State Wolfpack. Maybe the principles they used to defeat their giants can be useful in helping us defeat ours. Although there may be others, here are seven principles to help us triumph in the face of uncertainty and find ourselves in the future cutting down the nets in victory.
Principle 1 – They Showed Up with a Plan
It was Benjamin Franklin who was given credit for first saying, ““If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” Zig Ziglar often echoed these same words in his books and teachings. Both men understood the importance of meeting great challenges with a predetermined plan. Creating and putting in written form a strategy for defeating our current situation is crucial. Not doing so is like “playing basketball without a hoop … you don’t know what you’re shooting for.”
Principle 2 – They Played as a Team
It’s so easy in times of uncertainty and stress to attempt to place blame. Very seldom, if ever, have I seen change produced from the phrase, “It’s not fair”. Blame is the first step in creating division whether it be in countries, companies, organizations or individuals. No one individual, industry or nation can defeat the giant we face alone. It will take all of us working together and viewing each other as teammates and not as adversaries.
Principle 3 – They Stayed in the Game
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Do the thing and you will have the power. But they that do not the thing, have not the power.” So often, we do not find out who we really are and what we really possess until we are placed in situations that require us to do so. It is so easy to give up and accept defeat when things look incredibly bleak. However, if we choose to remain actively involved in the process, not only is it possible to find the solution we need to overcome the current situation, but to also develop skills that allow us to seize future opportunities.
Principle 4 – They Controlled the Tempo
Although we can’t necessarily control the tempo of the events currently taking place around us, the one thing we can control is our focus. It’s crucial to remember that whatever we focus on, good or bad, will always expand. Therefore, in times of chaos and uncertainty, it is vital we monitor the questions we ask ourselves. Our brains were developed to solve problems long before Siri was born. However, if we ask ourselves defeating questions our minds will give us defeating answers. If we ask ourselves empowering questions, our minds will provide to us solutions. Control your focus.
Principle 5 – They Were Willing to Think and Operate Outside the Box
Over time, all of us have developed a certain level of comfort when dealing with the challenges we face. In fact, we call it our “comfort zone”. It is only natural to want to live in that zone and it’s possible to do so as long as circumstances allow. Unfortunately, life seldom cooperates. Without our permission it hands us challenges that require us to step outside our current level of comfort in order to succeed or even survive. This is one of those times. Additionally, whether it be in terms of business, finances or health, if we are to survive and find success, we must be willing to think and operate “outside the box”. Companies and individuals who allow their comfort zones to be stretched during these uncertain times will be the ones who are still flourishing at this time next year.
Principle 6 – They Made Adjustments on the Fly
Reaffirming Mr. Emerson’s quote from Principle 3 above, many of the adjustments required to end up victorious at the end of this form of “March Madness” will need to be made spontaneously. Clearly, the events transpiring in the month of March 2020 and the affects that linger afterwards are unprecedented. Plainly, no playbook or instruction manual exists that instructs us on the actions that should be taken to provide a quick solution. We are being forced to write these as we go. Therefore, it is our active and continual involvement in making these adjustments that will generate the path to victory.
Principle 7 – They Refused to Listen to the “Experts”
When laughingly speaking of his wife, an 88-year-old retired doctor once said to me, “She believes everyone is entitled to her opinion.” Now, I know he was being humorous but in this day of the barrage of television, online, radio and social media, that statement holds more truth than ever. Commentators, news anchors, so-called experts and even Facebook friends will be happy to fill your mind with their opinions. “Doom and Gloom” sells and you could be the one paying the price. It is important when putting out a fire to not fan the flames. Filter your intake of information. Your mind can only process a limited amount of data. What produces fear, destroys faith.
In closing, I refer once again to a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote … “What lies behind us, and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Like the underdog North Carolina State Wolfpack basketball team of 1983, let’s be victorious at the end of March Madness … let’s cut down those nets!
Dave Davlin is a professional speaker who resides in San Antonio, Texas. He received a degree in secondary education from Texas A&M University. He is a former halftime performer for NBA teams and in 1990 set a Guinness World record for simultaneously spinning twelve basketballs on his body at the same time. He now speaks to organizations nationwide on the subjects of life skills and increasing personal and organizational performance. Dave can be contacted by email at dave@davedavlin.com and by mail at 23242 Bison Canyon, San Antonio, Texas 78261. Follow Dave on Twitter @davedavlin
