Every year, the NCAA March Madness tournament finds a star among the players but this season's MVP, or most valuable personality, could the be 98-year-old nun that serves as the team chaplain of Chicago's Loyola Ramblers.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt recently received press coverage and trended on Twitter following her underdog team's wins against the Miami Hurricanes on Thursday and against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. She caught the interest of TV reporters as she cheered on the players while sitting at the sidelines on her wheelchair. Her video interviews quickly became viral on the social network.
"I said we want to get the big 'W' up there and we did," the nun said in one of her interviews. "They have great teamwork and they're really good guys."
Sister Jean, as everyone fondly calls her, makes it a point to be present in the home games, despite her age. She prays with the team before the matches, as well as gives the boys some feedback and post-game analysis to help with their performance on court.
The nun waited 33 years for her team to finally rank at the NCAA tournament bracket. Rambler mania has taken over the school community because of the latest wins but people also bought tickets to the game just to see Sister Jean.
She exclaimed that she's having "a lot of fun" with all the attention but she can't explain how she became NCAA's newest star. She also told the press that the emails and calls haven't stopped coming and she's also getting messages from her former students over 60 years ago.
Sister Jean became the team's chaplain in 1994 but she used to work as a high school basketball coach. Meanwhile, the Loyola Ramblers management acknowledges that the nun knows her stuff when it comes to basketball hence she remains one of its valuable members.
This season has indeed become an unforgettable ride for the Loyola Ramblers and Sister Jean, regardless of the outcome at the NCAA.
