The days are starting to get longer, the sun is shining later, and we hear the birds chirping loudly at the peak of dawn. Spring has sprung, but more importantly, March Madness has begun! For college basketball fans, this is what you have been waiting for. All year, you are awaiting the day you can make your own bracket. That's not to say that March Madness is the most relaxing time.
As soon as those games tip off, you are constantly stressed out. Every free second you have, you pull up ESPN and check how your brackets are doing. Then, it happens; you have one team going to the finals and BOOM, your team gets eliminated in the blink of an eye. You stand there motionless as you try to speak. You feel the world imploding all around you. You know the ultimate truth. Your bracket has been busted! You sit there in class with your laptop open while your professor thinks you're taking notes. However, we all know that you are streaming the game and not paying attention to class at all.
You believed in the underdog, and then something miraculous happens. Eight seconds left to go, the underdogs ferociously grasp the ball with every ounce of motivation they have left. Underdogs down by two, victory in their sight. Four seconds left to go and the team's MVP pulls up from deep three point range and shoots. Even though the ball is traveling fast towards the basket, you can only recall that moment feeling like a lifetime. Then, it happens. Swush! You cannot believe it. You jump up and no words can describe how you are feeling. The underdogs win! You predicted the great upset. You jump to first place in your league and you stay there knowing you are one of the few that called that upset.
Either one of these situations can happen to any individual who is crazy enough to construct his or her own bracket. That's the beauty of it. The unpredictability creates the suspense and that's what we crave. We crave the suspense, the upsets, and ultimately who is going to end up on top. The weeks fly by while your hopes and dreams of winning your league begin to perish. You thought you had a miracle awaiting you, but that miracle was nothing but a dream. You remember the time as frustrating but totally worth it. You pack away your bracket and begin the waiting process all over again. You may think that you are done making brackets, but we all know that in a year's time you will be back at it again. You never know what may happen, but hey, that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
