The Man In the Arena

Sunday, March 29.

The 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament continues apace. 21,000 highly partisan fans cram into the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. Some 19 million others, from all around the globe, likewise follow on television or various streaming platforms.

In this marquee matchup, two longtime powerhouse collegiate programs get set to battle.

Duke vs Connecticut. A much anticipated, mouthwatering clash. The winner to secure a coveted semifinal place.

The game, tense and highly competitive, certainly does not disappoint.

For Duke, the game offers the opportunity to exorcise ghosts of the previous year. In that version of the NCAA tournament, the Blue Devils, up nine points vs Houston with less that two minutes to play, blow the healthy lead.

This time proves even more painful. March Madness once again a cruel mistress, especially for a team able to restock with elite talent year after year.

Initially, everything goes to plan. Duke, overwhelming Connecticut through its size and offensive efficiency, dominates early and often en route to a comfortable 19 point lead.

Consensus national player of the year Cam Boozer performs tremendously, eventually racking up 27 points and 8 rebounds. Yet even he is not immune to his team’s subsequent, unfathomable collapse. Indeed, Duke allows a tenacious and gritty Huskies squad to claw its way back into the contest.

Slowly, inexorably, the momentum shifts. The Blue Devils wilt, their control slipping away as the clash enters its final minutes. Still, up 72-70 with only ten seconds remaining, it appears likely they will survive. Survive, albeit barely, and therefore again advance to the tournament’s prestigious Final Four.

I thoroughly enjoy what is an especially riveting and well played contest, though, as a neutral of sorts, I have no particular skin in the game. So, unlike the hugely passionate supporters with highly emotional connections to one of the two teams, the outcome, for me, is of no particular concern.

Still, I am gobsmacked by what transpires in a sliver of actual playing time. Without question destined to be endlessly replayed in the weeks, months, and years ahead. Skill, organization, and calm matched equally by error, chaos, and panic. Minds turn to mush, critical decision making goes awry.

Working from its own baseline, Duke inbounds successfully to Boozer. Perhaps a tiny bit rattled from both coughing up the ball a minute before and then losing his check for a key hoop, he opts not to hold the ball and force Connecticut to foul him. Instead, he passes back to the inbounder, who in turn quickly throws the ball to another Blue Devil near the centre line.

The game clock ticks steadily down. 9 seconds. Then 8-7-6-5. This Duke player, Cayden Boozer, the twin brother of Cam and also playing splendidly, has a plethora of options. He too can hold the ball and wait to be fouled. He can dribble away from the two desperate defenders advancing towards him. He can probably even just hurl the ball as high as possible into the air, confident the game clock might then be close to reaching 0.0 by the time the ball returns to the floor.

He can also call timeout. As could a teammate. Or his head coach, the latter watching intently a short distance away in front of the Duke bench.

Alas, minds blank under pressure or perhaps clog with too much information. As a result, Boozer sees his ill advised pass up court deflected and recovered by Connecticut. Two quick passes later, Husky sniper Braylon Mullins, atoning for a dreadful shooting night, lets fly a deep three pointer.

The syrupy sweet, high arcing 35 foot bomb never looks like missing. 73-72 Connecticut.

Obviously, for the victorious coaches, players and fans, cue the bedlam and euphoria. For the vanquished, beaten in heartbreaking circumstances, there is only stunned disbelief and bitter disappointment.

Given years of personally watching both sides of this tortured dance, I can appreciate the winner’s unbridled joy. Yet, more to the point, and more importantly, I always take specific note of the losing team’s responses.

In this regard, I note one particularly painful interview. To his eternal credit, Cayden Boozer fronts up. Not only owns, but apologizes for, the error which "ruined my team's season.”

Hopefully, time will heal any sense of despair, and he will come to realize that no game, regardless of the sport, is ever determined by one single play. Even if, as in this specific case, it may feel like it does.

Much less savoury are the inevitable post game avalanches of criticism, negativity, and blame, which soon spew from too many press outlets and social media platforms. Thousands of miserable “armchair quarterbacks” vent their spleen, heaping abuse on hugely talented young athletes operating at a ridiculously high level and under immense pressure.

No doubt, the most vehement of these trolls, naysayers, and keyboard warriors likely barely played themselves, certainly never in front of an audience of millions. But are still happy to rant, incinerate, and belittle.

They need a history lesson. The words of Teddy Roosevelt, speaking at the Sorbonne in Paris over a century ago, do nicely.

Indeed, the USA President opined it is not the critic who counts, but rather the man actually in the arena. The man who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short, but who spends himself in a worthy cause. The man who knows the triumph of high achievement. And should he fail, at least fails while daring greatly. Unlike the timid souls who never know either victory or defeat.

Bravo.

Editor's note:

On April 4, Connecticut plays Illinois in one semifinal. Arizona and Michigan contest the other.

The two winners will meet in the final on Monday, April 6.