I have never been a big sports fan.
When I was in preschool, I had a short stint on the soccer field. Dreaming of ballet class instead, I would ‘chassé' down the sidelines, practicing perfect technique. I was much more content to run around with my head in the clouds than to chase the little ball that my friends were so fascinated with.
As I got older, I would only go to baseball games for the food, often with a book in hand. And sporting events on TV? Ha. I have been known to sleep through the Super Bowl on many occasions. I just never had much of a heart for the culture that revolved around chasing various balls for points. It was never as riveting to me as it is to so many other people.
Until March Madness- that is.
If you are unfamiliar with the very appropriately titled March Madness, it is (basically) the culmination of any college basketball fan’s life. Weeks of nonstop games- so many that you cannot watch them all at the same time, and all of the best teams in the country competing for the championship spot. And there’s a competition.
See- March Madness isn’t just for the players and the die hard fans. Pretty much any random person off the street can go onto CBS sports online and create a bracket. Yes. That’s right. You can go through and pick which teams you believe are going to win, and then get on a ‘team’ of sorts with your friends, family, or just some random people online (because that is what the internet is for) and compete against them.
You pick your winning teams, the ‘upsets’ you believe could happen, and try not to make your least favorites go that far on your own bracket.
Warren Buffett promised one million dollars a year to anyone who has a perfect bracket when the tournament gets to the so called ‘Sweet Sixteen.’ So far no one has made it this far.
Just a few years ago, I made my first March Madness bracket, and was catapulted into the competitive and dare I say it- fun- nature of sports. That year I picked my teams by the sounds of their names. I distinctly remember not picking Creighton to win their game because I didn’t like the sound of their name, and then being the only person in my family team to pick the upset that year. It has continued on, and it all started just this past week. This year, I compete against my mom, dad and brother.
What I love about it, and what I think makes it special is not necessarily the athletic element to it, but the way that it brings my family together every year. We are all pretty competitive, so getting to compete over something that we have very little control over is super entertaining, and it constantly makes us laugh over our bad picks and rejoice over the good ones. You don’t have to be a sports enthusiast to simply root for the teams you picked, and chat about what has been happening in the tournament. It is another conversation to have at the dinner table, and another thing to talk about during the day. It is exciting and different and something to look forward to every year.
And dare I say it- it’s pretty fun for a sports related activity.
Here’s to March Madness, and the Blue Devils.
Go Duke.
