Imagine, for a minute, if many of the deities we recognize magically appeared in a basketball locker room, of all places. Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Allah — and others unintentionally omitted — appear like lightning bolts inside the somber locker room of the University of Virginia men's basketball team a little more than a year ago, the night the Cavaliers made ignominious history.

Imagine if they all descended upon Charlotte, N.C., where Virginia became the first No. 1 seed in the history of men's college basketball to lose to a No. 16 seed. Not in 135 tries had it ever happened. But on this night, Maryland-Baltimore Country became the Davids who believed in the precision of the slingshot, sending Virginia to dizzying spirals of despair and embarrassment.

"Gentlemen," the deities might have said, "what if we told you the outcome of this game will be one of the greatest blessings of your life?"

The looks would have ping-ponged between quizzical and disdainful.

And yet ...

Their greatest adversity fueled their greatest triumph.

Let's think about that today.

Virginia's national championship Monday night, the year-long rebound from humiliation to jubilation, is one of the greatest sports stories ever told. Because it had everything — and nothing — to do with sports. It's a lesson for all of us to truly ponder: from despair comes growth and from growth comes triumph.

And all we must do is let it happen.

"If you learn to use adversity right," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said in his postgame news conference, "it will buy you a ticket to a place you couldn't have gone any other way."

The power of Bennett's words should resonate with all of us. Because this just in: We all have our stuff. Some stuff is more adverse than others. But if we practice some self-awareness, the evidence overwhelmingly shows the inevitable abundance that follows.

That's why Monday night wasn't just a basketball game.

It was an allegory.

Bennett called last season's loss a "painful gift." Again, for the uninitiated: a 16 seed defeating a 1 seed is akin to a minor league baseball team beating the Yankees. In real life, it is perhaps your worst fear coming true. It is perhaps losing a job or a loved one. It is perhaps becoming fodder for public ridicule. Or maybe it's just years and years of fooling yourself until rock bottom hits.

Many people, despite how well they fake it, are dealing with pain. And right there, on a basketball court Monday night, we learned that pain can be a gift. There's no denying that pain begets discomfort — and perhaps some painful soul searching — but the gift that waits on the other side?

Whoa.

"Remain faithful to the little things," Virginia's Ty Jerome said after the game. "Coach Bennett always talks about staying faithful, and he told us don't grow weary in doing good."

If you've read this far, you may wonder if these quotes came from a basketball game or spirituality seminar. That's why the night was so important. Sports are often metaphorical and inspirational. But rarely does something as insignificant as a basketball game play connect the dots with emotional salvation.

Some of you may be thinking that ol' Mikey D here has officially lost it. (I'd argue that happened long ago.) Nah. Maybe it's just a different way of seeing life. And that things aren't always as they seem.

If you hang around sports along enough — or maybe anything that ignites your passions — you see spiritual connections to everyday life. We carry Virginia's story with us now, perhaps as everyday inspiration or maybe just when we need a pick-me-up.

Remember the words of Tony Bennett: "If you learn to use adversity right, it will buy you a ticket to a place you couldn't have gone any other way."

Remember the words of Ty Jerome: "Remain faithful to the little things. Stay faithful and don't grow weary in doing good."

And onward, we go.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro