Hoops Playground

John Biever/SI

Dear ESPN,

It’s Tournament time.  I’ve been waiting a whole year for these next three weeks.  To find out which schools were invited to the Big Dance, and which ones saw their bubble burst.  To root again for the team I’ve loved since childhood, the North Carolina Tar Heels, to bring home another national championship.  To pick that 14 over 3 upset but lose my office pool to a guy who can’t tell his Washington Huskies from his Connecticut Huskies.  To see the clock strike midnight on Duke.  I’ve waited a whole year for an entire country to fall in love with an unknown college kid, like Bryce Drew in 1998 or Stephen Curry a decade later.  For David, like George Mason in 2006, to slay Goliath after Goliath on its way to an improbable Final Four run.  For history to be made.  For “One Shining Moment.”  For a whole year, I’ve waited to watch reality TV in its finest form – an event that provides so much drama, so much exhilaration that not even the best Hollywood writers could script out a better story.  To see the tears flowing down the faces of heartbroken players, wanting to give them a pat on the back, especially to those realizing they may never experience the unique excitement March Madness provides, ever again.  But more importantly I’ve waited a whole year to watch pure, unbridled joy, personified in the form of jubilant student-athletes who just pulled an upset for the ages or won a thrilling, unforgettable game, wishing I could feel what they were feeling for just once in my life.

But there’s one thing I’ve been waiting for my whole life.  Ask any fan, casual or diehard, who the voice of the game is and you’ll hear only one answer – Dick Vitale.  And, because of his contract with you, I won’t be hearing him call any tournament games.  None of us will.  He never has.  But the man lives and breathes college basketball.  Love him or hate him, he is college basketball.  No one loves the game more than Dicky V and I dare anyone to show me someone who does.  His passion is unrivaled and we’re reminded of it every time he puts on a mic.  At 69 years old, however, his time as an announcer may be near its end.  His voice fails him from time-to-time and just last year, he missed a few months to have surgery on his vocal chords.  But I can’t imagine an NCAA Tournament without Dick Vitale, yet I’ve never experienced one with him.  I’m not alone when I say I want every dipsy doo dunkaroo and super scintillating sensational moment in March to come with a heavy dose of “It’s Awesome baby with a capital A!”  And the only one that can make that happen is you ESPN.  So can’t you just loan him to CBS for a couple weeks, the way you loan them Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery?  CBS wants it, the players want it, the coaches want it, and most importantly, the fans want it.  So please, do us all a favor and do the right thing before it’s too late.

Sincerely,

David Im, college basketball fan since 1990