March Madness: A Look Back

In Houston, we lost to Baylor. They were a solid team and we came out flat. They wiped us out pretty good.

But that night we returned to the hotel where hundreds of alums and students took pride in the unknown Gaels getting as far as we did.

In five previous appearances in the Tourny, we had a total of one win. In 2010, we had two.

We surprised people and introduced them to an underrated, unknown team. We had something to celebrate for the entire month of March.

We were on top of the world.

One song I couldn't stop listening to during that time is "Hills and Valleys" by The Rocket Summer. We were on top of the world.

And so was I. Not only did I get to go to the tournament, be on the floor for the games, travel to two different states, and during March spend more nights in a hotel than my own bed, but it was more than that for me. Shooting those videos and getting the feedback I did helped me prove to myself that I could do what I wanted to: shoot and edit videos to entertain people.



Also, during those two weeks, I became very close with someone I'd met a few weeks prior. She was also a senior, at Gonzaga University, and had her heart set on becoming a sports reporter. We talked over the phone everyday about college, work, sports, television. Our talks, several hours long, helped me set my sights on getting into the TV industry.

Couple those together: goal-setting, confidence, and a support system and that's the beginnings of how I ended up where I ended up. For the time being at least.


There's a lot that came from those two weeks. Memories, fun, travel, career direction. But that was just me.
Take some of those feelings of belonging, recognition, and nationwide success and consider every Gael who felt that way. It was a momentous March for Saint Mary's.

I started working on a feature-type of piece for the school using footage I shot and from CSN Bay Area trying to tie up all those emotions into one video. I finished the first cut about a year ago and haven't gotten around to adding or taking away anything else.

I'd like to share it with you now. It makes me think of the great moments and accomplishments of the team and great SMC community last year. Hope it does the same for you.