I had a little funeral for March Madness last night and wrote this. Posting it here because anyone else who loves the tourney might get something out of it reading it and reminiscing with me.
Some people have Christmas. Some people have Thanksgiving. Some people have July 4th.
I have March Madness.
I remember filling out my first bracket in 8th grade in Mrs. Freeman's class. I'd never heard of doing that before but she printed them off for us. I didn't know a single thing about any team, but I guessed and wrote down my picks. During lunch she let us go to her classroom where she had the games on and we could watch a few minutes of the Thursday and Friday games and I got to cheer for the teams I selected! I don't have the ability to put in to words how cool and fun and captivating that 13 year old boy thought it was to be a part of this experience. I was hooked.
Over the course of the 13 years since, the first 4 days of the tournament have become my favorite days of the year. In college I would either watch the games while in class or skip class. As a professional I now take half days off of work so that I don't miss a game. I have traditions based around these games including (but not limited to):
-what I eat (Pizza Hut big dinner box on day one, then I reheat and eat the leftovers on day two )
-who I make brackets with (this list of family and friends grows every year)
-feeling a greater part of the world at large as I take to social media to see who else just watched *insert team here* pull an incredible upset or buzzer beating shot
Following the various storylines of hard work, defeat, growing up, victory, David beating Goliath, and countless others is, unquestionably, my favorite part of the year.
Today, my favorite 4 days were ripped away and it sucks. For those of you who don't "get" sports, I'm sad because, while the games are exciting, there is an indescribable thing that happens during this event that makes the world a better place to live. We, as a society, get to rally behind Florida Gulf Coast or UMBC and their underfunded programs as they take on heavyweight basketball powerhouses. We get to be inspired by people who devote their college careers to hard work and mastering a craft and we get to see the fruition of that work on, for the vast majority of them, the biggest stage they'll ever be on. We get to follow Loyola-Chicago and the 80 year old nun who was their biggest fan. Or Udoka Azubuike, who's mom flew halfway around the world to watch him realize a dream and play in a NCAA Tournament game. Or when Georgia State Head Coach Ron Hunter (who was so excited when his team got a tournament berth as a 14 seed that he tore his Achilles jumping up and down), watched his son hit a game winning 3 point shot and fell off of his medical scooter. We get to watch seniors realize the end of their playing careers and fight, claw, and scrap for just one more game with their teammates and brothers. We get to watch bitter moments of defeat and the beauty of teammates lifting one another back up.
So, while I know why the decision was made, and while I know that safety is more important than a game, and while I know there will be a tournament next year,
this sucks.
Therefore, it is with a heavy and saddened heart that I, for the fans who have been robbed of this experience, for the players who will never get an opportunity to play in the tournament (because less than 20% of teams get to every year), and for the seniors who thought they had more time with their teammates and don't, am pouring one out.
#ThisIsMadness
Some people have Christmas. Some people have Thanksgiving. Some people have July 4th.
I have March Madness.
I remember filling out my first bracket in 8th grade in Mrs. Freeman's class. I'd never heard of doing that before but she printed them off for us. I didn't know a single thing about any team, but I guessed and wrote down my picks. During lunch she let us go to her classroom where she had the games on and we could watch a few minutes of the Thursday and Friday games and I got to cheer for the teams I selected! I don't have the ability to put in to words how cool and fun and captivating that 13 year old boy thought it was to be a part of this experience. I was hooked.
Over the course of the 13 years since, the first 4 days of the tournament have become my favorite days of the year. In college I would either watch the games while in class or skip class. As a professional I now take half days off of work so that I don't miss a game. I have traditions based around these games including (but not limited to):
-what I eat (Pizza Hut big dinner box on day one, then I reheat and eat the leftovers on day two )
-who I make brackets with (this list of family and friends grows every year)
-feeling a greater part of the world at large as I take to social media to see who else just watched *insert team here* pull an incredible upset or buzzer beating shot
Following the various storylines of hard work, defeat, growing up, victory, David beating Goliath, and countless others is, unquestionably, my favorite part of the year.
Today, my favorite 4 days were ripped away and it sucks. For those of you who don't "get" sports, I'm sad because, while the games are exciting, there is an indescribable thing that happens during this event that makes the world a better place to live. We, as a society, get to rally behind Florida Gulf Coast or UMBC and their underfunded programs as they take on heavyweight basketball powerhouses. We get to be inspired by people who devote their college careers to hard work and mastering a craft and we get to see the fruition of that work on, for the vast majority of them, the biggest stage they'll ever be on. We get to follow Loyola-Chicago and the 80 year old nun who was their biggest fan. Or Udoka Azubuike, who's mom flew halfway around the world to watch him realize a dream and play in a NCAA Tournament game. Or when Georgia State Head Coach Ron Hunter (who was so excited when his team got a tournament berth as a 14 seed that he tore his Achilles jumping up and down), watched his son hit a game winning 3 point shot and fell off of his medical scooter. We get to watch seniors realize the end of their playing careers and fight, claw, and scrap for just one more game with their teammates and brothers. We get to watch bitter moments of defeat and the beauty of teammates lifting one another back up.
So, while I know why the decision was made, and while I know that safety is more important than a game, and while I know there will be a tournament next year,
this sucks.
Therefore, it is with a heavy and saddened heart that I, for the fans who have been robbed of this experience, for the players who will never get an opportunity to play in the tournament (because less than 20% of teams get to every year), and for the seniors who thought they had more time with their teammates and don't, am pouring one out.
#ThisIsMadness
