What Means More??? Making the National Championship Game, or Making the Final Four?

At the request of Drew and Linz Fell (real names censored for privacy), I am blogging on the topic of what is more important, making the the National Championship game or simply making the Final Four.

Well, the problem with this argument is how it's interpreted and what the original question actually is.

A.) If you interpret it as what is the better accomplishment for a team, then of course making the Championship game is. Of course it's better to win 5 games in the NCAA tournament instead of 4, and of course every team wants to try to win a game when they get to the Final Four. In the words of Herm Edwards, "you play to win the game... you don't play just to play!". No team should be satisfied coming that far and just "making" the Final Four.

B.) However, secondly and potentially more relevant, if the question is what will teams be remembered for and/or how will the media portray a team's success... then hands down, it's making the Final Four, not making the National Championship game. There are two things that you hear about in Division 1 college basketball. Those are making the Final Four and winning a National Championship. Making the National Championship game is not mentioned. The term "Final Four" is synonymous with glory and accomplishment in college basketball in the words of the media, and this is what we see and hear about everyday. Two observations support this theory: 1) Allen Fieldhouse - you only see Final Four and National Championship banners, and the pre-game video only talks about how many Final Fours and National Championships KU has, not how many Championship game appearances, and 2) the aforementioned media portrayal and remembrance of what's important. Here's an espn.com link to show what I mean: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/2305/kansas-jayhawks

If you scroll down and look to a right, highlighted under NCAA tournament history is Final Fours and Championship seasons, with no mention of National Championship appearances. This is what the media spoon feeds us, so this is what we remember as significant.

So, that's a long-winded answer, but in short...first decide what the original question is and then apply either option A or B above as needed.

That's just my two cents of course. But, some people pay a nickel for my two cents...