This weekend reminded me of what the best part of sports is. It isn’t about superstars. It isn’t about dynasties. It isn’t about intense arguments with Lakers’ fans on Reddit at 3 a.m about where LeBron will go in free agency (extremely fun fighting with Lonzo32824).  

Those are all nice and all a part of being a fan of sports but the best part of sports happened multiple times over the weekend. The unexpected.  

There’s a reason the NCAA tournament is called March Madness. There’s a reason why people spend their time filling out brackets in a vain effort to guess the right teams. It’s because the NCAA tournament is full of the unexpected. Nobody, and I mean nobody can predict what is going to happen.  

Many brackets were busted when Loyola Chicago took down their first-round opponent, Miami. The fashion they did so was also extremely unexpected. After Miami’s Lonnie Walker missed a free throw that would have put the Hurricanes up by two, Loyola Chicago’s Donte Jackson caught a pass and drilled a three-point shot as time expired.  

Nobody could have anticipated that. Miami had the big name, the NBA talent, and they were the higher seed. They should have beaten the small Catholic school from Chicago. But that’s the beauty of sports.  

While many expected their run to end in the second round, Loyola confounded expectations once again, knocking off the third-seeded Tennessee Volunteers on an off=balance fadeaway jumper by Clayton Custer that bounced on the rim twice before finally falling in, sending his team and his chaplain to the Sweet 16.  

There were other exciting finishes and unexpected results in the tournament. Arizona and star freshman Deandre Ayton were summarily throttled in the first round against the University of Buffalo. Many had the Wildcats advancing to the Final Four and even winning the title, but they returned home without winning a single game.  

Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orange made it to the Sweet 16 after having to compete in a play-in game to even enter the tournament. They perservered, winning a hardfought game against Michigan State in which they shot 36 percent from the field, an atrocious mark.  

Michigan had one of the best moments in the tournament. Down by two points with 3.6 seconds left, Jordan Poole caught a pass and heaved up a deep three pointer to win the game. His reaction after hitting the shot was incredible, as he raced away from his teammates as they tried to tackle him. 

While all these were great, without a doubt, the best story came from a college not too far from here. A small campus and the only Division one college with “county” in the name, University of Maryland Baltimore County captured the hearts of all across the nation. Everyone that is, except UVA fans.  

Led by senior guard Jarius Lyles, who scored 28 points, the Retrievers knocked off the ACC Champion, number one seed, number one overall, 31-2 University of Virginia Cavaliers. They didn’t just beat the Cavaliers on Friday night. They annihilated them, with a barrage of three-pointers.  

While their journey ended in a loss to Kansas State, Lyles running out of gas in the closing minutes, the Retrievers made history. They became the first 16 seed to defeat a 1 seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

Unpredictability. It’s what the tournament, and sports are about. If everyone knew what was going to happen (cough cough, Warriors winning the title), there would be very little fun in the games. Remember UMBC and Buffalo, their journey’s having ended, and root for Loyola Chicago and, the now famous, Sister Jean, if only for the sole reason that it would not be expected.