Cinderella has it so much easier these days. You might know that this year's Cinderella Team in the Final Four for March Madness. Loyola Chicago won the Championship 55 years ago.
It was 1963 and the trip through the tournament took the Loyola Ramblers to Mississippi State, where the welcome was less than warm. The unwritten rule in the south was, "You Northerners can come down, but with no more than two blacks on the team."
Loyola Chicago had four black players. The Governor of Mississippi was against the game being played. As Governor Ross Barnett put it, "Where are they going to eat? Are they going to want to go to the dance later and dance with our girls?"
The Mississippi College Board voted 8-3. Let 'em play. The courts got involved. Then on game day, Loyola sent their bench warmers on a plane to Mississippi just in case they'd face injunctions or arrest at the airport and the starters would still be out of state.
When the dust settled, Loyola beat Mississippi State by 10 and went on to the March Madness Championship.
Now that was a Cinderella story.
Jeff Caplan, when he's not wordsmithing My Minute of News, hosts Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News on KSL Newsradio in Salt Lake City, Utah. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JeffCaplanKSL/ and on Twitter @JeffCaplan.