my first NCAA March Madness tournament and Championship

 Watching March Madness 

I first started watching the March Madness, and the first game I watched was Marquette vs. LSU, my freshman year in High school.  At that time, I didn't know much about college basketball or any other college sports; the only sport I paid attention to was the NFL and anything teams within the NFC North. After watching Marquette defeat LSU, that's when I became more interested in watching more games, no matter what team it was. As I watched more and more college basketball, I'll admit I did have a few teams that were my favorite besides just Marquette and Wisconsin. I started to cheer for Duke, Kentucky, Illinois, and the University of Michigan. 

Only writing about my college basketball team 

When March game around, I continued to watch the NCAA basketball tournaments while also writing about my school's basketball team as well. One thing that I've learned is that the basketball team at my school is considered an NJCAA, which is a step down from the NCAA. NCJAA doesn't get that much recognition, unlike NCAA colleges. NJCAA is still broadcast, but not televised as much. I never really thought about writing for the NCAA, because I loved watching it, and it just never crossed my mind until I received a special email.

Invited to report on the NCAA at Fiserv Forum

After finishing up my homework and typing up about the women's tennis and starting on men's basketball, I received an email from my advisor wondering if I was interested in covering the 2025 March Madness tournament and championship, which is coming up at Fiserv Forum. I felt like this was a fever dream, because attending a March Madness event where it will be televised all across the country, and there is a slim chance that I will be seen or heard on TV? I didn't answer immediately because I started to overthink. But then, after talking to my parents, closest friends, and my oldest cousin about it, I decided that I would do it. So I said yes and prepared myself to attend this event. 

Credential pickup 

Even though I am a sportswriter, I can't just show up to the event without a press pass/ Credential. I had to bring my ID the day before the event, and the people handed me an envelope with the credentials in it. In the back of my mind, I really couldn't believe that I am having this huge opportunity to report on something this big that will be televised everywhere. I was very nervous the day of the tournament because I had never done anything like this before. 

March Madness day 1

After picking up the credentials on Thursday, Friday was the first day for round one in the tournament. Even though the game didn't start until a little after noon, I had to be there four hours early. I guess to avoid traffic, which makes sense because if I had come at the time of the game, I would have trouble getting in. Once I took a step on the basketball court and looked around, I felt like this was really a fever dream. I really couldn't believe that I was actually reporting on the NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament. Seeing cameras left and right all around the Stadium and other journalists entering the facility. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to local news such as TMJ4, Fox 6, and Channel 12. stadium was packed and the noise of cheers and some boos occurred from time to time. The food was very expensive there as well. I paid 18.00 just for a chicken and fries basket and then 16.00 just for one thing of swirl ice cream. The organization that was run by Marquette University was kind enough to give everybody a meal ticket, however, it was only $20.00, so there really wasn't much to get all in one sitting. There were times when I had to use my card to pay for the rest, which was fine. After all four games had finished, I was completely exhausted. I even skipped the last press conference for the game; I was ready to go home. Before game two, which occurred on Sunday, I took the day to sleep a little more, yet I remembered that I still had to write my report and handed it that same day, and so that's what I did, and it was published on Sunday. 

March Madness Day 2 

Sunday's game was the big one; this was the game in which these players really showed off their skills and gave it all they had to advance to the Sweet 16.  I will say that this game was more intense than Friday's game. The crowd was more energetic, emotions spread all across the court, and a lot of time-outs to rethink game plans. Until the end of the fourth quarter both excitement and disappointment from both teams and fans. I also met one of my local TV news casters from Fox 6, Tim Van Vorren. We had a small conversation about what I wanted to do and what college I am currently attending. He had this surprised look on his face as if he didn't know that MATC had a newspaper, well know he knows. I told him what I wanted to do, and he was very encouraging and wished me the best in my career path. I did see Lily Zhao as well, but I didn't talk to her because she seemed like she was very busy. After having that conversation with Mr. Van Vorren, I left feeling very inspired to do more and just focus on my career in sports journalism. 

Emotions 

While I attended these events, I did have a sense of feeling both happy but also the feeling of Isolation as well. The only person that I knew when I was there was the photographer, even though he was communicating with other people that he knew, which is great for him. However, there were times when I started to overthink and question myself if I belonged in this environment because there were people who were staring at me. I'll admit I did have the urge to cry from time to time because some of it did feel a little overwhelming. But then again, I haven't done anything like this before, and all of this is very new to me. Experiencing something like this is huge and feeling like I don't belong was a massive hump that I had to cross over. When I did, after looking at photos and videos that I have taken and especially seeing the article that I have written said a lot about who I am as a person and that I belong here and I am in the right career field.