One Shining Moment Reinvented...

As we kick off the games today (cannot wait!), I felt compelled to write not about the start of the action, but rather about the end of this year's tournament, and how it will change...

CBS announced that One Shining Moment, the amazing end of the tournament action, will be performed by Jennifer Hudson, rather than Luther Vandross like previous years (link to full story here).

Before I go any deeper, here's last season's video. If you've somehow not discovered these musical compilations, let me give you a quick overview. After the National Title game is completed and the nets have been cut down from each basket, CBS airs a compilation of the best highlights of the tournament, set to the song "One Shining Moment".

The song itself has deep roots. It was written by David Barrett, after he watched Larry Bird take Indiana State to the title game in 1979. It was reinterpreted by Teddy Pendergrass (1994-1999) and then the Luther Vandross version we all know and you'll hear below. This is a powerful inspirational song, and it somehow brings me to tears every time I watch one. Even if you have seen these, they are worth a click in!

2009

2008

Now I've really wondered why this hasn't gone any further than it is. It's a smoking hot video that college basketball fans stay glued to the TV in order to watch. It's the same music each year, but with current highlights. Now, maybe it will change this year with Jennifer Hudson at the helm... But that doesn't tap into the potential this song has in the game of basketball.

Here's some thought starters...

1. The song = championship. And thus, I'd love to see it extended to conference tournaments. It feels like there's a great chance to have versions floating around YouTube for every mid and low-major conference. If you are a North Texas fan, wouldn't you want the Mean Green version this year?
2. The song = contest. CBS tried a One Shining Moment mashup in 2008 (link here). It didn't gain a lot of traction but from my recollection there were two things that limited it and which might not be as much an issue now: Video quality (which has much improved) and the ability to tell your own version (which means using your own images or video, and which also thanks to the FlipCam, Facebook, and Flickr has dramatically improved)
3. The song = championships at other levels: Why not empower high school and youth basketball coaches to make versions around their teams and then create a stage to play them from? That could be incredible!!!

I'm pretty excited about this year's field. Something tells me there will be volatility early and that will lead to an amazing tourney (and video at the end!) Let's go!