MARCH Madness has a special connection with the song “One Shining Moment” which is played every year.
Every year, when the NCAA The national champion is crowned, the song “One Shining Moment” plays alongside a trailer of highlights from the winning team.
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The song is by Emmy-winning singer-songwriter David Barrett and has been the tournament’s anthem since 1987.
Barrett was inspired to write the song after playing a concert in Michigan and seeing Larry Bird perform on television.
He wrote the song and passed it on to CBS reporter Armen Keteyian who then passed it on to CBS Sports creative director Doug Towey.
The original plan was to play the song with an edit after Super Bowl XXI in 1987, but the game took a long time and they had to abandon the editing.
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Instead, CBS used the song when Indiana beat Syracuse for the NCAA title in 1987. The song has been used to crown the champion every year since then.
“When they called me initially, I thought it was a prank,” Barrett told NCAA.com of the tradition.
“But soon they convinced me that no, it was CBS New York, and they loved my song.
“It was like the song knew where it was supposed to be and it wouldn’t be denied.”
Famous artists like Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross, Ne-Yo and Jennifer Hudson have all performed their own renditions of the song and fans even made their own versions during the 2020 season, when March Madness was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
This year, the song will be performed on April 8, at the champion’s crowning in Phoenix, Arizona.
There are plenty of title contenders this year, with UConn, North Carolina, Houston and Purdue as the top seeds in this year’s madness.
However, a lower seed could show its moment of glory in the tournament this year.
The lowest seed to win the NCAA tournament is No. 8, which this year includes FAU, Nebraska, Mississippi State and Utah State.
The lowest seed to reach the Final Four is No. 11, which this year includes Duquesne, NC State, New Mexico and Oregon.
Every year the Cinderella story takes place and this year the best team in the industry will produce their moment of glory to win the championship.
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