The Final Four

The Michigan State Spartans and the Trojans of Troy University are two college basketball teams. Troy leads a game between the two sides, with the score at 64-62 with 6.9 seconds left to play. An 18-year-old Spartans freshman named Malcolm McBride faces down his opponent, Roko Bacic. McBride taunts Bacic and taps the name Trisha that is tattooed on his arm. The game starts, and the two players tussle. McBride bursts past Bacic and scores with less than a second remaining in the game. The score is tied, and overtime awaits, allowing the two sides to find a winner.

Earlier that morning, a national newspaper announced that the Spartans were heavy favorites. The Trojans are a tiny team that no one expected to make it to the final four of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, commonly known as March Madness. McBride speaks to the newspaper and arrogantly dismisses Troy’s chances at victory. Bacic grew up in the “war-torn and rebuilding country of Croatia” (9). He responds to McBride’s comments in the newspaper by calling McBride annoying and then drops a reference to a film. Bacic is a big fan of American pop culture. After the game between Troy and the Spartans, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils will compete for the remaining spot in the final.