My Cinderella Story
There comes a time in everyone’s life where bragging rights start to take over societal norms. For me, that was in 2006 and I still hold tight to those fleeting front-page memories probably the same way Britney Spears holds tight to her old Catholic schoolgirl hot bod. Those were the days, right?
And based on the picture to the left, it’s pretty obvious I’m a George Mason fan (and alum) and firmly believe they are one of the greatest Cinderella Stories in NCAA history, if not the greatest. Although, based on definition and parallels of the actual 1950 movie, I’m not sure anyone in NCAA Men’s Basketball has really fit the proverbial glass slipper to a T. Not even my Patriots if we’re being honest.
Most of you reading The Blonde Side should be acutely aware of what a Cinderella or “Cinderella Story” refers to, but since I know my mother is reading this (thanks mom), I’ll elaborate: this concept refers to a team or player who advances much further in a tournament than expected (via Wikipedia). The amount of media attention and bandwagon fans these Cinderellas get is b-a-n-a-n-a-s.
Take George Mason for instance – one of the biggest schools in Virginia, but because we lack a football team, we are either off the sport’s map completely or people assume we’re a small private school. Wrong. Wrong. And wrong’er.
But the thing that really bothers with me with this fairy tale analogy is that in the Disney classic, Cinderella just kind of shows up out of the woodwork and surprises everyone. Coming out of obscurity, much like George Mason did in that 2006 season when they stole the show as an 11 seed. The 2006 brackets were in worse shape than the Titanic marking the first time in 26 years that all four No. 1 seeds didn’t make the Final Four.
In the movie, Cinderella has to work harder and overcome multiple obstacles to get her shot at the prince. George Mason did that as well, but obviously not for their shot at a dude, but rather a bid into the dance and then the chance to keep advancing game after game after game.
George Mason Patriots - The Ultimate Cinderella Story
Here’s where I see the difference. In the movie, it’s all about the ending – Cinderella finding her Prince Charming (who by the way, for a cartoon character is totally my type for those keeping track). Sure, the story of how she got there and all the wicked haters (her stepsisters and stepmother) were part of the storyline, but the gist of the movie is that she made it. The slipper fit. The two lovebirds tie the knot, which is more than I can say for any of the twenty seasons of The Bachelor, but again, I digress.
The difference, as in most cases with the sporty Cinderella is it’s more about their journey. How they got the bid to the Madness that takes over March, all the teams with massive season highlight reels they took down to get there (Wichita State, UCONN, Michigan State and UNC), but then, unlike any Disney fairytale we’ve seen, the George Mason Patriots lost in the Final Four to Florida (just another reason I can’t stand those damn Gators).
While it was a good run, no make that a great run, this particular Cinderella Story, and all the other ones sports blogs and networks hammer on about end more like, well a Lifetime movie. In Lifetime movies, Tori Spelling (or one of their five other actresses they meticulously rotate) typically has a hard time trusting guys and doesn’t think she’ll ever fall in love, and then without warning (yeah right) she meets the love of her life. That’s where a typical Disney story would end – after a few babies of course. But no, she ends up getting brutally murdered by her doting husband while skiing down an Olympic mogul double-black after ACL surgery. Not that Mason got murdered by those damn Gators, but it was kind of hard to watch. I wasn’t left with warm and fuzzies like I am after watching Ariel get her legs for the final time to live as a human rather than an underwater mermaid or Sleeping Beauty wake up to a tongue in her mouth.
Doesn't look like the Cinderella we know from Disney, does it?
And of course it’s clear after watching VCU’s run last year (another Virginia school, mind you), that there may be more than one pair of glass slippers open for the taking. Butler had their shot at the slipper two years ago, but again, where’s that perfect Disney ending?
Who do you think has a chance at claiming this year’s slipper or at least trying to put a fat foot into it? Creighton? Saint Mary’s? Long Beach State?
PS – ever wonder where the term Cinderella came from? Thanks to Bill Murray’s impromptu line in Caddyshack, we can now successfully bridge Disney and Sports and feel OK about it.
For those of you gearing up for the Madness that is March, here is the 2012 NCAA Tournament Schedule:
Selection Sunday – March 11, National Bracket Day – March 12, First Four – March 13 – 14, Second Round – March 15 – 16, Third Round – March 17 – 18, Sweet 16 – March 22 – 23, Elite 8 – March 24 – 25, Final Four – March 31, National Championship – April 2
just another example of an awesome sign. AP Photos/Mark Humphrey
Oh, and contest galore. Two ways:
1. Two lucky readers of The Blonde Side will receive either a $50 Visa gift card or an NCAA team jersey. Simply leave a comment with what your favorite thing about the NCAA tournament and I’ll select two lucky random winners this week. If you win, you can pick either the gift card or an NCAA team jersey which will be mailed to you directly. Note, if your email address isn’t present, I’ll skip over you.
2. Want to see the action in person? AT&T is hosting a sweepstakes right now to go to the Final Four AND the Championship game! That’s right, you get to go to both. I’m jealous because I don’t think I’m eligible. To enter go to http://bit.ly/ATTSweeps for details. What are you waiting for? Get in the game!
*A big thanks to AT&T who provided me with a gift card for promoting their sweepstakes but all thoughts and opinions on The Blonde Side and in this post are my own.
I love the fact that during the month of March, it is perfectly ok and sane to skip work to watch the games at your local bar. :-) It is also so exciting to root for the underdogs to win.
Great article on a great story, march madness(Ncaa Tournament) is one of the few sporting events that can even have a Cinderella. It is awesome to see that the underdog, little guy, runt of the litter, and of course Cinderella can make it to the Big Dance!!
What a great article :) MY favorite thing about March Madness is how one little piece of paper and a highlighter in my hand makes the the biggest fan of whomever i need to advance to the next round. This year my march madness will consist of my bracket, my highlighter, my pregnant belly and o’douls ;)
You just brought back so many memories from 2006!
My fav thing is that it’s a TOURNEY, unlike college football. Any team that’s fortunate to make it that far has a chance to win. 68 teams > 2 teams
It’s the best time of the year. It’s when dreams come true to small and big teams. Those dreams might be different and take different routes, but they’re still dreams that started in pee wee ball and are finally coming to fruition. No other sport has the magic that NCAA and March Madness does.
Ummmm. I read them all to just not mama!!!!! I love it and love reading everything my lovely and talented friend does!!!
The best part about this time of year is the first weekend. The never ending stream of games and all the shocking upsets. The days that your bracket is going perfect only to be decimated by a night session. This is one of the few sports in which one player can really make a difference. I love the possibility of a Cinderella story in March Madness because its not allowed in college football, as it shouldn’t be. This tournament is the perfect place for everyone to have a chance and where they actually do have that shot!
You made Disney and March Madness interesting…thank you! I think the glass slipper will fit George Mason perfectly.
Great read…enjoyed it
I love that there is free streaming, so that I can watch games at work.
Great read! It amazes me that you tied together basketball, Disney, Lifetime, and Tori Spelling all in one article! I hope their is a Cinderella story this year!!
Jayme, my favorite blonde, does it again! Another great read. I think March Madness is my favorite time of the sports calender. These guys (and girls) play for the love of the game. Most of them know their chances to making it to the next level (NBA/WNBA) are few and far between. Only the elite on the college level make it to the pros. They play their hearts out for the honor of becoming a national champion and not for the zeros at the end of their paycheck. Although the college game has shown to be somewhat corrupt, I think for the most part these guys play because they love basketball. Let the upsets begin!!
How about the North Carolina State Wolfpack under Valvano? They came out of nowhere AND tied the knot in the end, despite being double-digit underdogs in the National Championship Game.
Excellent read about George Mason. I’ll be rooting for the underdogs this year for sure. Can’t wait to see what awaits them in the tournament.
I absolutely love your articles! Being a HUGE sports fan myself (AND actually understanding the game) I am so happy to have a legit female sportswriter to read from! :-)
Even though I am not a huge fan of basketball, I get so into March Madness- it is always so interesting to see what teams get through that no one expected- it goes to show that in sports, anything can happen!
I love the fact that I become as a big of a fan of a team as that team’s alumni just because I picked them in my bracket. I love the fact that until the horn goes off there’s always a shot for a team nobody heard of to knock off the household name. The NCAA tournament gets it right. Everybody gets a chance and nobody argues whether or not the team that won it all absolutely deserved it.
I feel like this year, there are a lot of teams that COULD make a run… NC State, Murray State… heck, even VCU again… but I really feel that the cream rises to the top, and that there will be 2 or 3 1 seeds and nothing below a 3 seed (probably Florida State) in the final 4… the early round games in the 8/9, 7/10. 6/11. and 5/12 will be entertaining and probably a lot closer then in years past!
Great article! Enjoyed the read and thinking back to Mason’s run to the Final 4.
Had George Mason back in 06 to go to Final four. :)
As a proud Mason alum myself, I LOVE an upset, an underdog and clearly a run that no one would have ever expected. Im so much MORE of a college basketball fan because I look forward to tournament time when I can carry around my beloved brackets and cheer on my temporary teams!!! AWESOME job on the article!!
HEART! It sums it up in one word. They all play with so much heart and determination. They leave everything on the court, and play for the love of the game. Not money or fame, Only to be the in the final showdown and To say….. We are #1! We are Champions!
Nice article! I think there will be plenty of teams looking to fit the Cinderella Slipper this coming tournament… Some of my picks include NC State, Creighton, Murray State (although they are 30-1), and even South Florida if they can win the play in game!!!
Nothing beats the Thursday and Friday of first-round (yes, I’m a traditionalist) games. The bounce-around that the networks do going from game-to-game and the ability to get thrilled by one dramatic ending after another. It doesn’t matter if you have an interest in the game or even if that game kills your bracket. If there is an upset in the making or a game coming down to the wire, you want to see it and you get invested in the outcome, if only for a few minutes. There is nothing like that first two days of March Madness!
Great story. George Mason was a true Cinderella, but the best thing about March Madness is that anyone can come from anywhere to steal the show. Remember VCU last year? For that matter, where did last year’s Champion UConn start in the first round? They certainly weren’t considered a favorite.
*Dicky V voice* “It’s Madness, baby!”
This is my favorite time of year. I don’t follow it religiously, but I love it when all my friends and I get together and fill out our brackets. I always root for the underdog in most cases! It is even more exciting when a VA school is playing! :)
The best thing about this time of year and basketball in general is the tournament and those tournaments leading up to it. To see teams that have a less than stellar year earn entry through a win to start again. Skill and talent play into it, but you always have to pull for the guys playing with heart! Be it George Mason, Butler, VCU or throw backs like Villanova or NC State, you have to pick and pull and hope for a lower seed to surprise!! This year??? Can only make your pick as the games tip off!
Nova has to go down as a true Cinderella. As far as the greatness of March Madness, it has to be that we stay up well past midnight watching two teams play, that a good majority, noone has a clue whos playing. Then its a breakdown of brackets hoping and praying for ungodly upsets so that our favorite team can not obly make the final four but they make it against 3 other directional schools.
Florida State, Florida State, Florida State, whoo!
Love & appreciate the gator hate & Bachelor reference!
That was an awesome article. I love the underdog stories that come out of the tourney. As much as I love football those stories never really materialize.
Saw Coppin State beat South Carolina fifteen years ago, I think at the time it was the second 15 over 2, probably the best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced, whole crowd jumped on the bandwagon and was so loud.
Thanks for all the input everyone! I used Random.org and Melissa and Wes are the lucky winners! I’ll need to dig up your email addresses to get the info from you (or you can email me at jayme AT theblondeside DOT com and we’ll go from there!
is it too late to enter? I love that you offer contests on here, proves you’ve got some validity to your writing and your blog! keep up the good work!
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