Tonight the University of North Carolina will square off against Michigan State in the men’s NCAA Division I basketball championship. This game is the culmination of, in my opinion, the most exciting couple of weeks in all of sports – 64 games, lots of upsets, and of course your by now tattered bracket.
Is it a coincidence that tonights game involves two teams representing states that are at the center of American politics? North Carolina seems one of the newest battleground states given its shift left, the weakness of Sen. Richard Burr in 2010, and the fact that it was the first state to receive visits from the new President, First Lady, and Vice President. And of course Michigan is the home of what might soon be the newest wing of the Department of Transportation, or what some might call a “bailed out GM.”
Yes, it almost surely is a coincidence, but that will not tamper the potential excitement of seeing Michigan State win in front of a virtual home crowd (the Final Four is in Detroit this year) and for a state that, in case you have not heard, could use something positive on which to focus. I’m sure Jennifer Granholm has her fingers crossed.
And if you’re wondering, I took UConn to win the tournament; and no, I don’t think their loss will affect Sen. Dodd’s chances at leading the Peace Corps either way.