That was easily the most disappointing One Shining Moment I have ever seen. Isn’t it about the ball players? The coaches? The fans? The people that are there day in and day out for the love of the game…the guys that wake up for weights at 6 in the morning and don’t go to bed until they’ve finished watching game film at night? The coaches that live and die game plans? The fans that camp out at night just to ensure they get their usual seat in the front row of the student section?
Well, not according to CBS. It is about….Jennifer Hudson! Nothing against her singing, but really, with the time they showed her. They could have been giving credit to way more teams in the field of 64 than they did. It’s those guys who deserved some face time, some recognition for their years of hard work that stretch far beyond the time they’ve been playing in college. They could have showed a few more screaming fans, who could – and most definitely would, grow up one day to share with their kids that they were on One Shining Moment back in their college days.
Since when has sports become about promoting a singer? Some traditions should just NOT be changed. This is one of them. I’m hoping that message gets out loud and clear. More Luther Vandross, more basketball. Less change. It isn’t about the singer. It’s about the players. Someone should have sat in that meeting between CBS and Jennifer and reminded both parties, “It isn’t about you.”
So for the first time ever, I am not going to say how much I love One Shining Moment. Because this year, I think it was ruined. It wasn’t about the game. It was about the artist singing. I did not get chills. I just got more angry as I realized the song was coming to an end and only a handful of teams had been shown. Not to even mention, the Huskies, were only on, for maybe .2 seconds. Did anyone see the Griz? I know they lost in the first round, but in previous years, I’m pretty confident that all 64 teams in the field got at least a clip in the roll out. Hopefully the producer of that monstrosity gets the point and next year, we hear Luther Vandross and see basketball.
Just came across this blog, but I totally agree about your comments in regards to One Shining Moment. In fact, this year it was One Heaping Diva Mess in my opinion. Bring back the Luther version with ALL basketball clips next year.