Every year, college basketball produces some amazing players. A handful go on to fame in the pros. Most don't. These 23 players from the previous decade were amazing in March — and then vanished forever.
The best moment in college sports happens at about midnight on a Monday in April. Greg Gumbel sits at a desk in a half-empty stadium. The nets behind him have been cut down. The confetti has not yet been cleaned up.
"And now," Gumbel says, "we leave you with 'One Shining Moment.'"
And then CBS plays the corniest, sappiest, most terrible song.
And millions of Americans — myself included — start crying for no apparent reason.
Source: youtube.com
Here's the thing: I watch a lot of sports. I see a lot of highlights. I do not cry every time I see a "SportsCenter" Top 10 list.
But this song — played over video taken at what, for most of these competitors, is the exact apex of their basketball careers — just crushes me. It always does.
So here's to those who star in that montage. Here's to the legends, the heroes, the greats who never made it past that big stage in March. The NBA wasn't for you, so here's to your one shining moment.
Dee Brown, Illinois
Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com