It's Madness!!

It’s madness I tell you! Basketball madness, that is. Today, we are down to 64 teams in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. Bill has watched more basketball in the last week than in the last month and we get a little competitive this time of year.

Interestingly enough, we all root for different teams. We have the ultimate “fan of fans” when it comes to Purdue sports, Bonnie Dolick. Whether basketball or football; she’s sure to be there to support her team. When it comes to our Leadership Team, Amy Hart-Ramey is a Butler grad and roots for her Bulldogs. Bill likes to cheer for the Boilermakers…he is so excited to watch them in the NCAA and enjoyed watching them last weekend. Dean Reskevich roots for Indiana while Steve McDonald cheers for Iowa. (Bill gets great joy in reminding them that their two teams are the only Big Ten schools not in the post season.) As for me, I sit back and take it all in.

In the midst of all this basketball madness, the most fun we’ve had in the past week around basketball has been watching the events at the Noblesville Boys and Girls Club where Taylored Systems sponsors a team. This year, our sponsored team is made up of 3rd grade boys. Monday night started the beginning of the playoffs and the Taylored Systems team took on an undefeated team. One of our employees, Nikki Bohannon from our NOC has a son playing on the team. Bill was there to cheer on the team for their 5:45 game and they WON! The win meant they played again at 7:45 and Bill had to stay and see what was happening, it was so fun to watch these kids play ball! And, guess what…Taylored System’s sponsored team won again!

The excitement is growing as this Monday the Taylored Team with Nikki’s son as a player will face off against the opposing team with Amy Hart-Ramey’s son as a player. So much excitement we can hardly stand it.

Want to know what is so cool about this? There are no endorsements or big contract negotiations tied around these games. It is genuine, fun, good spirited competition. These kids are there to learn how to play the game, show good sportsmanship, and have fun. There is one boy on the team who wears braces on his legs. He isn’t the fastest player, but he has the right mindset and his team rallies around him. He recently scored his first 2 points and the crowd erupted to celebrate his relentless pursuit. It was a “goose bump” moment.

Whether the fastest player or not, all kids get the chance to play…and isn’t that what it is all about? It is fun to know that the same level of excitement and enthusiasm that erupts annually around “March Madness” is alive in our communities with the activities and events our kids are participating in. It is pretty neat to be a part of that.

This was Amy Hershman's latest conversation with Bill Taylor.
Thank you and kind regards.