This weekend, the nation was transfixed by drama, as one side, then
the other, seemed sure to win, and then finally a dramatic upset
occurred. No, not health care, but the NCAA basketball tournament,
where, for the first time ever, a No. 1 seed (Kansas) lost in the first
round to Northern Iowa, on a three-point shot at the final buzzer. I am
not a sports fan, but my boyfriend pointed out that the really
interesting thing about the game was the name of the all-American
lad from West High School in Iowa City who made the winning shot --
Ali Farokmanesh.
Ali's father, a former player for the Iranian Olympic volleyball team, came to America for an education and stayed here. Ali, says one of his teammates, is "one of the hardest workers I've ever met." He has never seen his grandparents, or Iranian aunts and uncles.
Elsewhere in the NCAA, St. Mary's, a small Catholic university, knocked out second-seed Villanova. The big star? A 6' 11" garrulous, trash-talking, self-described "slow white guy" -- Omar Samhan. Omar's father came here from Egypt, he grew up in California, and when it was time to go to college, his Muslim parents, who Omar describes as "pretty liberal," let him "go where I wanted and had the best chance to play."
To read the full, original article click on this link: The Final Four and American Greatness - Brainstorm - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Author: Teresa
Ghilarducci
