While a successful outcome was by no means certain at the outset, I think it’s fair to say that the NCAA basketball tournaments—both men and women’s—lived up to, and likely exceeded, expectations.
Sure, there were bumps along the way—though by the time we got to the actual tournament itself—well, the games were exciting, the upsets plentiful, and the end result satisfying (more so, depending on who you were rooting for, of course). Those who planned and put this all together deserve our collective thanks and appreciation—and certainly have mine.
Indeed, while we’re not yet fully past the COVID crisis, there are definitely signs of hope; vaccines are (already) beginning to be distributed at a pace of some three million a day—and increasingly I am hearing of in-person meetings (distanced and masked) and the beginnings of business-related travel. The empty middle seats on airlines are (already) said to be a distant memory—and while I haven’t yet had the reason/need to travel outside this state, I am already beginning to formulate a plan for doing so. Top of my current list—a mother whose 90th birthday celebration I missed out on last year, and 18 months’ worth of hugs.
Those plans for the future—our future—seem more real every day. After a year of being careful and cautious—hesitant and tentative—planning for a post-pandemic future now seems like a tangible reality that, if still out of reach—is only just so.
- Log in to post comments