It's Tournament Time: Be Optimistic

March is one of the most exciting times of the year and can also be one of the most stressful. Millions of Americans will be glued to the television cheering on their favorite schools in the NCAA basketball tournament. It is a cherished past time to scribble in an empty bracket, marking sure-bets, sleepers, and bracket busters. Pitting your falsely inflated knowledge about 68 teams (most of which you've never heard of) against your closest friends and family. But then it comes time to predict how far your school will go. Maybe you're a student or an alumni. Maybe you only like them for them for the tastefully gawdy uniforms they have no short supply of. Either way, there is always a sense of betrayal when you stop advancing your own school through the bracket. It makes you feel like you've given up on them... Even if your reasoning is statistically sound, and you know they can't hit enough outside shots against the zone defense, you never want to be the first person to put a cap on their tournament dreams. And you shouldn't.

Optimism is a powerful trait for a team and it comes in many forms. The belief that any team has the chance to make a run at a national championship is what makes March such a centerfold of the sporting calendar. There is a field of 68 teams all with this insane belief, when in reality there can only be one champion. That means 67 teams will come up short. So why even dream? Why put yourself out there? Why have your team, an 8 seed, playing in the championship game?

Because if you don't believe in them, who will?

Research shows that optimistic teams perform better. This has been shown in both individual athletes and also professional basketball teams. When a coach creates an environment for the team to set high goals and then the players create a culture of optimism, success is most likely the outcome. The best athletes in the world are the day-dreamers, the ones who believe in an outcome regardless of how many "facts" show that they will fail. The higher the bar, the further a team is willing to push themselves to get as close as they can.

"Gentleman, we will chase perfection. We will chase it relentlessly. Knowing all the while we will never attain it. But along the way, we will catch excellence." - Vince Lombardi

So let the computers compile stats and rankings to try and predict a winner of this tournament. As a fan, pick your favorite team, believe that they will win every game they play, convince everyone you know that they will win the tournament, and then cheer your heart out to let those players know that you believe in them. Any coach that says they are only happy to be in the tournament and "will see what happens" has essentially crossed their name off the guest list to this dance. Blind and fearless optimism, in the face of almost certain failure; it is what a team needs to win in March. And it can start with you.