Few things in life live up to their hype. This is especially true often in sports.

And then again, when expectations aren’t high to begin with, it’s not hard to exceed them.

Most of my brethren in the national sports media spent the past several days moaning about the lack of drama in Monday night’s NCAA national Championship game between the upstart Butler Bulldogs and the Duke Blue Devils.

It just wasn’t a good matchup, most of the blowhards on TV said. Duke would simply wear Butler down with its size and depth.

Well, it didn’t happen in the first half, and Duke led by just a bucket at intermission.

No problem, the talking heads said. Butler would fade down the stretch and the game would turn out to be the blowout many were predicting.

Wrong again.

Instead, we got one of the best national championship games in recent memory — one that literally went down to the last shot.

One of my least favorite sports cliches is that old saw, “It’s a shame somebody had to lose that game.” It’s something I’ve steadfastly tried to avoid using over the years.

And yet, it seems strangely appropriate for Monday night’s masterpiece.

And if that one doesn’t work for you, how about the old Vince Lombardi quote, “We didn’t lose the game — We just ran out of time.”

I’m sure that doesn’t work at all for the Butler players, who were a rattle around the rim away from winning a national title.

Over the past week, the media, as might be expected, beat the “Hoosiers” storyline into the ground.

That, along with “Cinderella,” “David vs. Goliath,” and a number of other cliched memes.

But in the end, the storybook ending wasn’t to be — showing why they usually are found precisely there: In storybooks.

Were there two winners, as some commentators insist?

No. Duke won, and Butler lost. That’s just the way it is.

The stat sheets don’t show a very pretty or technically sound game.

But as usual, the stats don’t tell the whole story.

Games are won and lost by fallible human beings, who take shots that don’t fall, who commit untimely turnovers, who at crunch time, take their team on their shoulders and try to do big things.

Does it always work out? No.

But this is why we watch: Not for numbers in a box score. We watch sports for the human drama, for the escapism, for the chance to forget about our daily lives for a few hours and get lost in the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

The thrill of victory is especially sweet for a Duke squad that won its fourth national championship under Coach K.

It’s the second straight championship for the Carolinas, and will give Blue Devil fans statewide bragging rights.

For a few months, anyway.

Because before we know it, the chill of fall will sweep down across the Appalachians and remind us that basketball season is just around the corner again.

Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14, or via email at dvantress@yourdailyjournal.com.