Where It All Began

Some people ask me where my affinity for the NCAA Basketball Tournament began.

March 17, 1973.

Providence, led by Ernie DiGregorio, upset Maryland, led by Len Elmore and Tom McMillan, 103-89, in the East Regional Finals. Back then it was only a 24 team tournament and "March Madness" was just "March Slightly Craziness." DiGregorio, a short, slow, goofy-looking white kid (my hero at the time) was a remarkable basketball player and a true pure shooter, scored 32 despite being in foul trouble the whole game.

He fouled out with 5 charging fouls. Maryland's whole strategy was to bait him into driving and then flop when he made contact to try and draw the foul. It didn't work well, because most of the time he just scored and no foul was called. But it only had to work five times, and it did.

But Maryland still lost. Providence's real star that day was Marvin "Bad News" Barnes, arguably the original Dennis Rodman, who had beaten a man with a tire iron and been arrested multiple times for burglary and assault - not to mention multiple drug charges. Amazing, none of this impacted his eligibility at Providence. (Obviously he could have gone to Ohio State as well.)

I watched the game with my Dad while we hung tongue in grove pine paneling and finished the basement like a couple of pros. Well, I basically just handed dad nails and got him beers, but still. After the game we laid red shag carpeting squares. (It was the 1970s, damn it!) And at the end of the day we were really proud of ourselves and had our first beer together.

Okay, I was only twelve, so I didn't really have that beer. But it's a better memory if I did.

Miss you, Dad.