Basketball's the best reality TV there is

Tired of my winter duds -- and mindful that pearls, beads and baubles are in again -- last week I opened my jewelry box to see if I had something to spiffy up the neckline of my sweater while these chilly days linger into spring.

I discovered my noisy old charm bracelet. About a dozen years ago, I attached the relic to a chain so I could hang it around my neck -- and I promptly forgot about it.

I pulled it over my head and looked in the mirror. I thought, "That'll do."

With my teen history represented by 28 shiny charms -- including a Bearcat mascot for Muncie Central High School and a megaphone from cheerleading -- dangling around my neck, my thoughts turned toward my passion for Indiana basketball.

In truth, March Madness already was on my mind.

But that megaphone reminded me how much things have changed.

"Cheerleader" when I was a teen was different from today's competitive gymnastic style with stunts, flips and pyramids. That charm symbolizes a year when another friend and I stood to lead the girls' cheering block, an activity to boost school spirit while the boys played ball.

Rarely before the passage of Title IX in 1973 did girls' competitive athletic programs have a place among the lineup at public high schools.

At any rate, my love for basketball and cheering started with my dad's example. After his graduation from Purdue, he taught shop at the Muncie Central Trade School until he started his construction business in the mid-1950s. That's when, in addition to being a loyal Boilermaker, my dad became a loyal Bearcat and so did I.

Quite the vociferous sports fan, whenever Purdue plays I'm convinced I can hear my dad's "coaching" from the sidelines in front of his TV in Muncie, Ind., all the way up here in Naperville.

March Madness always turns my attention to the final run of college basketball where Indiana teams usually find a few places on the brackets for the NCAA tournament. Indiana University has won the championship five times. And Purdue has played in the NCAA Final Four twice.

Thursday, after the Boilers breezed through round one, topping Baylor, I had high hopes Purdue's young team would advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

While digging for a few facts about the NCAA tournament, I discovered the format has changed nine times since the first eight teams played in 1939. Perhaps it's time to change again.

Over the weekend, I heard radio commentators talk about doubling the size of the tournament, which might be a good thing for college basketball, even if it's not all televised.

For instance, when I was in high school, every team in the state had a chance to play in the single-class state tournament, no matter what the team's record for the season.

Though the rules in Indiana were changed in 1997, the four-week state basketball tournament of my youth always attracted my family's undivided attention.

Though many of the games were blowouts when teams were drastically mismatched, upsets by smaller teams such as depicted in the 1989 movie "Hoosiers" have given Indiana basketball its earned reputation.

"Hoosiers" was inspired by a 1954 game between Milan High School Indians and Muncie Central High School Bearcats. That year, Milan toppled Muncie 32-30 in Butler Fieldhouse for the state title.

My folks were at that game in 1954 and my dad remembers the heartbreaker with all the details and my mother's tears like it was yesterday.

Yet, to this day, Muncie Central, with eight state titles, is the high school with the most ISHAA basketball championships.

I've learned many lessons in life from watching basketball. What could be better reality TV for the whole family?

Plus, true to my mother's teachings, next week I'll be cheering for Xavier, the team that beat Purdue Saturday afternoon, 85-78. Go Musketeers!