Is Cinderella endangered or thriving?
Depends on the sport, which is fascinating either way.
What do you know about the Omilteme cottontail? If you know the name at all, odds are good it’s because you thought this species of rabbit was dead. Most everyone did. Found only in the Sierra Madre mountain range, the Omilteme cottontail was first discovered in 1904 and then nobody saw one until 1998. It would take another 20-plus years before any were caught on camera.
But recent evidence suggest they’re out there. We don’t know how many, but some. And that is a story anyone can like.
Welcome to the first real day of March Madness. You are, hopefully, celebrating the start of the season by eating something ridiculously good that is ridiculously bad for you, as is tradition.1 Over the next three weeks you will, probably, watch a bunch of basketball and, unless your team is playing and has a lower number in front of its name, hoping for the worse team to win each game. That is also a story anyone can like. It’s basically the defining feature of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Yet, a popular trend story entering this year’s dance is that Cinderellas are dead. NIL killed it. Transfers killed it. Instead of making the iconic shot in the 19982 tournament that powered Valparaiso past Mississippi, coach’s son Bryce Drew would be more likely to play for Ole Miss in 2026. So, the narrative goes.
Over in college football, however, the twin boogeymen are more often accused of flattening the sport, leveling the playing field. Which is it? Is the Cinderella story at risk of extinction, or is it still alive? Or is it, as most things are, dependent upon when, where and how you look?
