THIS IS MADNESS!

As March comes to a close there is no question, March is one of the best months in the year.  The snow is finally starting to melt and I give myself some hope that summer will be here sooner than I think. 

ooooo la la!

My friends and I get together and drink enough green beer to dye our livers a deep forest green.

This is what I feel like by about 2pm most St. Patty's Days

Spring has officially sprung but all of that pales in comparison to what truly makes March one of the greatest months of the year.

This is madness!

NO THIS IS...

MARCH MADNESS!!!!

Having gone to the always impressive University of Kansas, college basketball is a way of life. Even when I watch NBA games (rarely), I will find myself still associating the players with their Alma Matter. Now some people do not see how truly amazing March Madness is (one of them is my girlfriend).

"It's a waste of time"

No other month shows so many nail biting games with players that will fight tooth-and-nail to have their team advance. They are the top (arguable) unpaid (VERY arguable) athletes in the nation and for some of them, it will be the last game they ever play at that level.

I work at the bookstore when I am not on the court

Back in 2008, when KU won the National Championship, I was fortunate enough to go to the first two rounds of play in Omaha, NE. That was one of the best weekends of my life. Not only because I got to see KU handily win their first two rounds, I also go to see a lot of great players play their last collegiate basketball game. One of those was Michael Beasley.

When I am not on the court, I am getting baked more than Pillsbury

Even though he went to K-State, I will still say he was one of the best players of the 2000's. He declared for the draft, went as the second pick, and has had unimpressive careers with the Heat, the Timberwolves, the Suns, back with the Heat, and now the Grizzllies. I still think he was an unstoppable force as a college player.

Photo Unrelated

College teams have two styles of play in my opinion, they are either a well rounded team with a variety of great role players, but no unbelievable stars. I would include such teams as Duke or, up until 2013, my Alma Matter, KU in this category. Even if their “star” is off that night, the rest of the team is so strong that they could easily pull off a win. These are the teams that live and die as a team. When the team is meshing well and everybody is clicking, it is a thing of magic, but some nights the team never finds its rhythm and that can lead to tragedy in March.

It's ok, you can push your child to do better, and then have him resent you

The other style of play I tend to see is a team that surrounds a player that is too much of a dominant force to stop. Texas did this with Kevin Durant, Davidson did this with Stephen Curry, and, of course, K-State did this with Michael Beasley. Even the Heat did this with LeBron James in the NBA.

Ouch.

This is not my favorite style of play. I love to watch it, but I wouldn't bet on those teams. They are the ones that get amazing SportsCenter highlights and they are the ones that get all the conversations about the player, but if that one player has a night off, the whole team is hung out to dry. When a player that averages over 30 points a game even gets a much as 20 or 25, that is an off night. In the Turny, 5 points makes or breaks a team. 5 points is the difference between heading to the Final Four, or going back home. But, I haven't even gotten to the best part of March Madness...

THAT is a fan

Building a bracket and playing against your friends. Filling out those brackets and going game by game, analyzing stats, seeing game play, and (mostly) going with that gut feeling is a time honored tradition. Every year, I do my research, carefully pick my teams, and am confident that my bracket is 100% correct. I play a variety of people; the die-hard college basketball fan, the guy who loves pro sports, and the guy who knows little-to-nothing of college basketball. 

"What is this Bass-keet-ball?"

Guess who won the league this year? It is the same people that win every year. It's the people who pick Morehead State because they think the name is hilarious.

Tuche

Once again, my knowledge of teams and players has gotten me nowhere in March. I did not choose one of the Final Four correctly this year (I mean, who chooses an 11, 8, 4, and 3 to make it?). Out of the Elite 8, I had a grand total of....2! KU and Florida. Both teams should have beaten their teams, and thus, I would have won my league. Could Florida beat number 8 seed Butler, NO. Could Kansas beat NUMBER 11 SEED VIRGINA COMMONWEALTH??? Of course not....

I am dissapoint

Even though my bracket gets busted every year, I will still keep playing, I will still keep rooting for the Cinderella Stories, and I will still be sad when the Madness is over. Besides, it is almost warm enough to go catch a baseball game.

Let's do a little better this year guys