We’ve officially entered March Madness.

To be honest, I’ve been to church, and I take my faith seriously, but I had as close to a religious experience as I’m probably going to get.

For that moment only, I officially became a member of the church of basketball.

Tuesday’s service was held at the sold-out Lantz Arena. The ceremony involved 94 feet of hardwood, a pair of hoops and an orange ball. It didn’t need a priest because the leader of this experience was a pair of schools from two towns I probably couldn’t point to on a state map. Needless to say, this event moved me in a building that I didn’t believe could produce a reaction out of me like that.

Eastern annually hosts the Class A Boy’s Basketball Supersectional and in 2004, Olney (East Richard) High School went up against Pana for the right to go to Peoria to compete for the state championship.

The two towns combined do not match the Eastern student population, but fans packed Lantz to witness high school basketball history live. It was true passion with the adrenaline-filled electricity in the building capable of lighting the entire Coles County area.

It was clear from the start that Pana was the deeper and more talented team, but the underdog Olney wouldn’t do away.

In a game that seemed to be dominated by Pana, it happened. This basketball game suddenly turned into a Disney movie. It was at that moment, my photo editor, who doesn’t like sports at all, couldn’t believe how much this game mattered to him. This is why people who love sports can say that events like Tuesday night are more than sports. In rare occasions, in the blink of an eye, games become the drama of human competition and people are suddenly taking through emotional roller coasters that they never want to end.

With less than three minutes left and the Tigers down 52-47, Olney made this contest memorable. Olney guards, who looked like their gas tank was on empty two minutes ago, began to come off of curl patterns and nail three-pointers cutting the Pana. Olney hit three consecutive shots from beyond the arc and suddenly the game was tied with 53 seconds left. After two free throws, Olney center Thomas Campbell missed a lay up and at that moment my reporter John Hohenadel proclaimed, “he’ll remember that for the rest of his life.” The sad part is, John’s probably right.

Olney looked to be dead and buried before an Pana turnover gave the Tigers life and Lantz erupted. With six seconds left, Olney forward Alex Berry had a good look at three to tie the game. Now, I’m a reporter and my job requires that I not care who makes the shot but I wanted Alex to hit nothing but the bottom of the net for a totally selfish reason. In those final two minutes, I became a basketball fan specifically an Olney fan instead of a reporter and I didn’t want the game to end. Berry missed, Pana won and once again, it was proven what sports can do.

This sports event at the same time turned a reporter into a fan, a non-fan into somebody who cared and transformed a basketball game into the most important event in the towns of Olney and Pana. That is what sports can do, this is why it’s called March Madness.