Many believe that the NCAA’s “March Madness” college basketball tournament is the biggest and most thrilling basketball tourney of the year. Those who have ever heard of NCSY Kollel, however, know that Kollel’s annual 3-on-3 Tournament truly takes the cake.
Shortly after morning shiur this morning, the campus became abuzz with predictions and excitement as brackets were pored over and every person on the program was seen with a different colored t-shirt around their neck. At 3:00 sharp(ish), after what was surely a very lively hour of Chaburahs, the basketball courts came alive with basketballs, slushies, and a rainbow of teams. With 84 teams in the advanced bracket and 29 teams in the intermediate bracket, nonstop action was taking place wherever you looked between the hours of 3:00 and 7:00 PM. With free slushies, popcorn, and cotton candy provided by Mak’s Cakes in the center parking lot between the courts, it was truly a festival to behold. We finished the day having moved deep into the third and fourth rounds of the tournament, with the rest of the tournament planned for Wednesday’s sports period, tomorrow’s tiyul day giving tired players a much-needed day of rest before then. A big thank you to Yeshiva University for sponsoring today’s tournament as they do every year.
The excitement for the day wasn’t over, though. Maariv was immediately followed by the bittersweet departure of Rav Schachter, shlita, after three amazing and inspiring weeks of hosting him in our Beis Medrash. The members of the Kollel danced him out of the Beis Medrash and sent him off to the airport. The night came to a close with a siyum by Meir Yaakov Sobolofsky, accompanied by schnitzel and popper sandwiches from the Sack Shack, the hot food department of Yummy’s.
We’re looking forward to four amazing options for tomorrow’s 9-Days Tiyul!
