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So I realized last night as I was watching the Final Four selection show that this is the 20th year I have done so. Holy crap time flies. Seems like just yesterday that I was in my parents basement watching the brackets come out and telling my mum I would come for dinner in a second.

The living rooms have changed, the people around me are different, players have come and gone but the selection show and tournament stay the same. 64 teams and 65 games in a three week period, there is nothing better if you are a hoops fan.

So I thought I would look back at the last 20 tourneys and share any memories that strike me as I do it. Enjoy

1987 - Indiana Hoosiers - My first taste of the madness, Keith Smart and the shot I have seen 20 million times. Orange were Orangemen.

1988 - Kansas Jayhawks - Danny Manning taking a team on his back like I have never seen before.

1989 - Michigan Wolverines - Highlight of my Madness career, seeing my Wolves win with Steve Fisher running the show. Glen Rice, Rumeal, Sean Higgens, Loy Vaught etc. I can still feel the nerves of that last 10 seconds and the genuine joy of seeing it all end. That was One Shining Moment I will never forget. Screw you Rick Fox.

1990 - UNLV Runnin Rebels - Man that was a good team. Larry Johnson was a man among boys. Runnin Rebels made ball fun again.

1991 - Duke Blue Devils - I already had a hate on for Duke but this brought it to a new level. Still don’t know how they beat UNLV.

1992 - Duke Blue Devils - Fab Five almost shocked the world. HATE Duke. The most fun I have had watching a tourney. C-Webb and Jalen were my boys.

1993 - North Carolina - Tears were shed on Webber’s famous time out blunder. It hurt’s just writing this. God Damn Tar Heels. Semis game with Kentucky was amazing.

1994 - Arkansas Razorbacks - Man that team could flat out run. 40 minutes of hell that called em. Big smile on my face when Duke got their ass handed to them.

1995 - UCLA Bruins - To be honest I don’t remember this one. Was that the Ed O’Bannon team??1996 - Kentucky Wildcats - Canadian content as Magloire won a ring. Typical solid Wildcats team. I remember watching some games at the bar with Kevin. He so loved it.

1997 - Arizona Wildcats - Miles Simmons, I have no idea why I remember that name!

1998 - Kentucky Wildcats - Comeback Cats, I think they made huge comebacks in every game they played. Very little memories.

1999 - Connecticut Huskies - Rip was born, Gonazaga became the new cinderella and most importantly Duke got beat!

2000 - Michigan State Spartans - Mo Pete and the Flint-stones had a great run. I just remember Florida being outmatched in the final.

2001 - Duke Blue Devils - Good finals, rememer how Loren Woods was actually a good player. Man Shane Battier was hard to look at with the grooves on his head.

2002 - Maryland Terrapins - Juan Dixon (new raptor) was the MVP and I remember I thought Lonny Baxter was going to dominate the NBA and not the buffet table.

2003 - Syracuse Orangemen - The rise of ‘Melo. A frosh named Carmello took the team all the way to the title. You know how it went from there. Marquette was in the Final Four as well. I saw that D-Wade was one serious baller even though I never thought he would ge out of Dwayne Wayne’s shadow.

2004 - Connecticut Huskies - Talk about a stacked team. Okafor, Ben Gordon etc. I was pulling for the Rambling Wreck but no dice. Fell asleep and woke up in time for one shining moment.

2005 - Noth Carolina Tar Heels - So wanted Dee Brown and the Illini to win. My pools took a big hit thanks to Syracuse going out early. My first year in the Rock pool did not go so well. Got Katie into college hoops. She liked some guy named Rondo.

2006 - Florida Gators - Crazy year for upsets, the rise of the mid majors and the picture of Adam Morrison crying make up this year. Oh that alien guy named Noah was pretty good to. Watching ball and brewtending with Lindsay was a highlight.

2007 - Florida Gators -  One of the more boring tourneys. No real upsets, Florida beats OSU in the finals. Lost really bad in my pools because I went with upsets.

There you have it, twenty years of how I remember watching the tournament known as the big dance. Do you have any memories? Feel free to share them. This event is like meeting up with the family every year if your family included Billy Packer and Jim Nantz. I will leave you with my favourite part every year.

One Shining Moment

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