Eleven months of waiting. Torture. Distress. Agony. But we did it, folks. We made it.
March is here.
Think of how you feel when your favorite time of the year comes around. Now multiply that feeling by 1,000, and that’s how I feel about March.
The month itself yields limited excitement. Spring is on the way, which brings some enjoyment. There’s also St. Patrick’s Day, which, in my mind, is just another excuse for sorority girls to dress in green, day drink and post Instagram pictures with the caption, ‘Lucky to have you in my life,’ along with a four-leaf clover emoji. Come on ladies, you can be more creative.
Instead, for me, March means taking a break from reality to revel in the magic that is upon us. That magic, as I’m sure you all know, takes the form of the NCAA Basketball Tournament: the 68-team, single-elimination tournament which redefines what we thought we knew about college basketball.
For some odd and unforeseen reason, lectures become more and more sparse during the middle of March. Brackets frantically shoot out of the library printers, and the only mathematics that any stats major cares to calculate is the probability of that 12-seed pulling off the upset against the five. Americans watch truTV for the first (and probably only) time all year. Money mysteriously changes hands, but I can be sure that it’s solely coincidental and has absolutely nothing to do with illegal gambling.
Additionally, if it wasn’t flawless enough already, March Madness occurs at the perfect time of the sports calendar. Football is hibernating until the fall, professional basketball and hockey are in their usual regular seasons and baseball is in the early stages of spring training (but honestly, if you care about that in March, please re-prioritize your life). All attention can be put on the supreme sports spectacle of the year.
Emotions run deep in the NCAA Tournament. Just watch any rendition of the “One Shining Moment” videos on YouTube, and I can guarantee each one contains either a coach, player, fan or all three moved to tears.
The stakes could not possibly be higher. The NBA playoffs, for example, consist of a seven-game series. Normally, the “better” and most talented team will win, according to the law of averages. The same cannot be said of the NCAA Tournament. One bad game could leave the undisputed best team packing their bags. Upsets are as common as mosquitoes in summer (read: very common), and every year, a team no one has ever heard of will make a splash.
Unlikely heroes sprout like flowers in spring, leading to cult-like followings. Who could forget Jimmer Fredette and Steph Curry torching nets, the VCU team making a Final Four run in 2011 or how the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast team appeared to score solely off alley-oops, winning the hearts of millions with its up-tempo play?
Finally, the motivation. College basketball players don’t play for money. They play for something more. They play for their teammates. They play for their families. They play for where they came from. But most importantly, they play for their school and the opportunity to do something remarkable with those they consider family.
All of these reasons add up to the magic feeling of March.
So sit back, relax and enjoy the Madness.
It's the best time of the year. How does March Madness impact your every day life? Let Matt know at sports@dailycardinal.com.
