Maryland’s contributions to society are many. Just to give you a few examples, it was a Maryland boy Francis Scott Key who wrote our National Anthem after watching a battle for Ft. McHenry. Animal-wise, courtesy of Maryland, there are all those great Chesapeake Bay Retrievers running and swimming around. (And no jokes are permitted that Maryland really HAS gone to the dogs.) Food wise, Maryland is famous for its crab cakes, Old Bay and of course our very own stuffed ham.
Sports-wise however, Maryland is famous for something that you probably never thought nor knew about and that is college basketball’s Midnight Madness being celebrated today. (Or maybe that should read “celebrated earlier today at midnight.” I am not really sure.)
Back in 1971, Maryland men’s basketball coach Lefty Driesell started Midnight Madness as follows:
Following Lefty and Maryland’s lead, other colleges implemented similar 15 October events and celebrations and soon Midnight Madness was everywhere. As for attracting a crowd and why the event became so popular, Maryland basketball player Tony Massenburg noted “You don’t need a reason to get a bunch of college kids to stay up until midnight” (click here).
My observation on Tony’s comment – the only time I ever see midnight anymore is when I have to get up and use the bathroom for the first time after I go to sleep.
Music-wise, Lisa Loeb was born in Bethesda, Maryland but grew up in Dallas. I don’t know if she ever participated in any Midnight Madness events, but I do like this song that was her first big hit. Note that I still have my copy of William Saroyan’s book that my Mom gave me years ago titled “I Used to Believe I Had Forever, But Now I’m Not So Sure.” I think of it every time I hear Lisa sing that line at the 1:44 mark.
No Midnight Madness at Buzzy’s Country Store today/tonite, but we will have the baseball playoff games on. Three of the four games being played today feature teams up 2 games to 1 meaning a win today will cinch the series for them. However, I am rooting they all lose and have to play a deciding Game 5 tomorrow. Nothing like a little pressure to see who can deal.