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On the eve of the Final Four, I came across this video and totally forgot about Nantz's old tradition. I also started preparing for a college basketball championship without one the games best.
After 32 years, the veteran play-by-play announcer will step aside for Ian Eagle, and call his final NCAA Tournament game for CBS. Thankfully, he isn't retiring or leaving CBS yet, we will catch him very soon for the Masters (Hello, Friends), but sadly this will be his last CBB Championship.
For those who don't remember, Jim Nantz had a tradition of gifting his tie to one senior on the title winning team. It was a right of passage and honor, that brought lots of joy to Nantz. He stated that the necktie had a lot of symbolization to him and his personal life, especially because his father taught him how to tie a tie. Nantz said he wanted to be the person to pass along the same gesture to an inspiring senior. Unfortunately, because of old journalism and internet haters, Nantz hasn't given out a tie since 2016. The keeper of the "final tie" is Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono. That has to be a pretty sick memorabilia item, but I digress.
People were saying that Nantz was forcing players to take his sweaty tie, and that the gesture was egotistical and weird. Those people can go pound sand, because that is a cool gesture and it's something nice that has personal significance in his world
Honestly, I am surprised he listens to the haters, and secondly, how can you hate on Jim Nantz? There would be no better send off then to bring back for the tradition, one last time. Screw the haters, do it for the kids.
Narrative nation would think so to. Nantz is a University of Houston alumni, who started his sportscasting career in Houston, and now his last championship game is in... Houston. This is a storybook finish at it's finest, and the internet would explode.