Andrew Huse, Senior Staff Photographer

Sports are all about the memories, the shared cultural events, the recollection of that one great moment.

Ask most elderly sports fans, and they’ll regale you with an account of Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” in the 1954 National League Championship Series.

Talk to a middle-aged guy, you’re sure to hear about the “Immaculate Reception” or about “Havlicek steals the ball! Havlicek steals the ball!”

A 20-year-old kid will undoubtedly remind you of Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot over Bryon Russell in the 1998 NBA finals.

Even if you weren’t there, even if you have to imagine Havlicek’s steal or Thompson’s hit, those memories are ingrained in your head.

Ten, 20, heck, even 50 years from now, fans will still be talking about them.

They’re the stuff of legends.

As memories go, this year’s NCAA Tournament has been an instant classic.

Besides the obligatory San Diego State reference – and, yes, I did pick them over Indiana – just about every game was full of intrigue and excitement.

Moment for moment, play for play, upset for upset, this year’s tournament has outclassed every other one in recent memory.

A moment: Watching Adam Morrison break down after his Gonzaga squad squandered an 11-point lead to UCLA with three minutes to play was a sight for his sore eyes. The face of college basketball in 2006 was contorted into a mess of tears and pure sadness – a sobering reminder that while one team cuts down the net, 64 other teams are simply cut down.

A play: This time it wasn’t Havlicek stealing the ball, it was UCLA’s Jordan Farmar. With his team down by one to the Bulldogs and less than one minute left to play, Farmar swiped the ball from Gonzaga’s J.P. Batista and dished it to a slashing Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. For a team that no one projected to reach the Final Four before the tourney started, this play symbolized their resiliency – and their luck.

An upset: George Mason. That’s it – George Mason, in general. The Patriots’ stirring run from the Colonial Athletic Association to the Final Four – as an 11-seed – captured the hearts and minds of college hoops fans across the country. Their wins over UConn, North Carolina and Michigan State were the things movies are made of. Think “Hoosiers.”

But don’t take my word for it.

Ten years from today, you’ll turn on ESPN Classic and see Northwestern State beating Iowa on a top-10 Tournament upsets list.

-Devin Kunysz is an accounting junior and assistant sports editor of The Daily Aztec.

-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.