March Madness

If you are like me, March Madness is a time of fun and exciting basketball, but also of extreme frustration and angst.  Every year, I fill out brackets, and every year I doubt my picks and second guess my basketball knowledge.  And every year I pay hard-earned money to participate in a bracket.  And every year I lose that money.  But not just to anybody; usually to someone that has NO CLUE about college basketball.  Which just goes to show you that it's anybody's guess who wins.  All the analysis, watching games all year, evaluating the brackets...doesn't end up having a bearing on how well you do in the pool.

In the end, these are 18-22 year old kids playing in strange cities in front of boisterous crowds on national tv with nothing but school pride and a love for the game driving them.  Some are showcasing skills for that million dollar a year paycheck, but most are simply out there because they want to be.  They represent themselves, family, college, hometown...in the end, they play because of emotion and a desire to win.  And when that is the case, anything can happen.  And it usually does.

My alma mater, Wake Forest University, straps up for a trip to New Orleans as a #9 seed to play #8 Texas. Having lost four games in a row before snapping the streak, only to get annihilated by a focused Miami squad in the ACC Tournament, my bet would not be on this team.  The Deacs are not playing well and I'm sure confidence is low.  But that's what makes this matchup interesting.  Texas is a similar team; almost identical in terms of profile.  Athletic, experienced teams with some great non-conference wins battling in tough major conferences, but suffering from inconsistency and bipolar disorder on the floor.  One of these teams will turn it around, and one of them could contend if the momentum goes their way.  When you have seniors on the court for potentially their last organized basketball game of their career, uncommon valor abounds.  This will be a dogfight, and I'm not going to give up hope until the final buzzer sounds.  And hopefully my dog is the one left standing.  I know I will be...I'll be on my feet for 40 minutes, cheering and holding my breath for every shot.  Because isn't that what March Madness is all about?