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March Madness is probably one of the craziest times of the year. The colleges are busy playing games in NCAA basketball, while the NBA professional teams are fully engaged in drafting players. In the meantime, the N-Penn is bustling with its own March Madness of the 5th graders only among 13 elementary schools in the district.

I was chosen as one of the eleven representatives of the Montgomery (MO) team from the volunteer pool unexpectedly. Boys and girls were mixed together. At the time, we had only two practices right before the games started, which were mainly focusing on shooting and doing lay-ups. I felt pretty confident. But some kids even had a hard time dribbling. The practices were short, so nobody improved. We just got a refresh to the mind of what basketball was.

Our first game was set against Bridle Path (BP), and we won easily. Their team had a boy who looked like a girl with long hair but definitely didn't play like a girl. "She" ran around the court as fast as a fly. We had to deal with "her" in order to get through the game. (MO45 vs. BP35)

The second game was waged against Gwyn Nor (GN) and went through easily although we weren't dominating. A tall kid about 5" and 7/1.73m in height named Adi always blocked our shots and was a huge pain when it came to rebounds. He also would get the ball from the air. Luckily, he moved so slowly that we didn't have any real danger. In the end, we were allowed to take shots from the half-court away from him! The other team had no whatsoever chance to defeat us. (MO39 vs. GN23)

So far, we advanced 2 to 0 and were about to face another undefeated team like ours, North Wales (NW). When we met each other, we left 10-14 behind in the first quarter. However, we pulled ahead later in the game. It seemed a little unfair because our team members were randomly selected and had little experience competing in the past. In contrast, everyone on the other team seemed to have a better knowledge of basketball. However, we were determined to play as a team and each of us worked hard to excel in the challenge. (MO34 vs. NW28)

Our final game against Knapp turned out less exciting than before it began. There were rumors flying around the grade that they were undefeated. But on the court, I really knew what was true. The opposing team cracked, snapped, and popped. In the beginning, they played decently and soon lost their cool. They continued to miss open lay-ups and easy shots. As the ref blew the whistle, I realized that we became undefeated in the North Penn March Madness of 2014. (MO40 vs. KN32)

I guess what people say "It's only a game" is true. But still, it's worth remembering.

【红霞译文】

“疯狂三月”大概是一年中最疯狂的时刻之一，全美每支大学生队正热火朝天酣战高校体育协会篮球联赛﹔美国国家篮球协会职业球队紧锣密鼓，在季后赛开始之前，各自为扩充实力而招兵买马。北宾州学区同样不甘寂寞，特意选择这个节骨眼上疯狂一把，在13所小学五年级学生范围内大张旗鼓地举行课外篮球比赛。

我入选蒙哥马利小学“疯狂三月”球队纯属意外，十一名成员全部从自愿报名的五年级学生中任意抓阄组合而成，男女生参半共同奋战。正式比赛之前，大家仅凑在一起练过两次，主要集中在投篮和上篮方面，我倒自鸣得意，不过有的队友连运球都成问题。练球时间有限，因此谈不上提高什么技艺，能增加点球感已然算不错了。

首场比赛与马径小学相遇，我们旗开得胜。对方球队中有一留着长发外表酷似女生的男孩格外引人注目，“她”像苍蝇一样窜得飞快。若想赢球，我们得首先设法与“她”周旋。比赛结果蒙哥马利队以45比35拿下马径队。

第二场比赛对北格温小学，尽管我们并非咄咄逼人，但最后还是轻而易举地取得了胜利。北格温小学有一位名叫阿迪的大个子队员，身高足有五尺七／一米七三。他不光占据天时地利人和之优势，而且很容易控制篮板球，甚至经常抢到空中传球，令我们大伤脑筋。好在人高马大的他动作比较迟缓，而我们则利用速度以快制胜。终场前，大伙儿扬长避短，中场远距离投篮，彻底摆脱来自篮下的威胁﹗对方一点辙也没有。比赛结果蒙哥马利队以39比23大胜北格温队。

到目前为止，我们以二比零的战绩处于领先地位，接下来马上迎战势均力敌的北威尔士小学。第一节比赛结束时，我们以10比14落后四分，但很快便反败为胜。乍看结果似乎对北威尔士队有点不公，尤其包括我在内的本队大部分球员都是半路出家，毫无经验可言﹔而对方精兵强将，个个身手不凡。话说回来，我们赢就赢在齐心合力方面，人人努力为集体争光。比赛结果蒙哥马利队34比28打败北威尔士队。

我们对奈普小学的最后一场比赛竟然没有赛前期待的那么激动人心。事先谣言四起，夸耀他们战无不胜，一旦亮相球场，我才明白什么叫纸老虎，遇到真枪实弹的时候不堪一击。他们开场打得生气勃勃，不久逐渐露出马脚，并频频出现失误，在无人防卫的情况下投篮三不沾。随着裁判哨笛令下，我立刻喜出望外，本队才是北宾州学区2014年度“疯狂三月”常胜将军。比赛结果蒙哥马利队40，奈普队32。

人们常说“这不过是场游戏”，我觉得一点没错儿。尽管如此，这种经历还是挺值得记忆的。

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