For me, March has always been a special time of year. No, it’s not because spring is coming, Saint Patrick’s Day or even my own birthday, it’s because of March Madness.

As a fan who grew up watching college basketball and as a Gonzaga student, there are certainly reasons for me to celebrate this week, and those reasons are oh so sweet.

After a thrilling first and second round, only 16 teams made it out to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Gonzaga University happens to be one of them.

And although we are the lowest seed (11) still left in the tournament that absolutely does not mean we are a Cinderella story.

Situated in a quiet corner of the Pacific Northwest, our basketball program has been making waves for almost two decades.

In head coach Mark Few’s 18 seasons at Gonzaga, he has brought our team to March Madness every single one of them. Our program is well respected and revered. We did not come out of left field like a Cinderella story implies, we have worked long and hard to be where we are today.

As a spoiled sophomore, I was accustomed to Kevin Pangos and the rest of the gang undeniably crushing almost every team last season. We all knew that season was special. Even I remember thinking that this is going to be the best season during my 4 years here.

But I was wrong.

This season, although defeating at some points has been one for the books. Media giant HBO decided to do a special five part series on our team called “The March to Madness”. As the bumpy season carried on, many joked that HBO jinxed us. How could we have a “March to Madness” if we don’t even get in the tournament?

The madness truly started in West Coast Conference in Las Vegas, when all of a sudden last season’s spark was relit. Going into the tournament with a 28-7 record marked with major losses from Brigham Young University and Saint Mary’s College, many were skeptical about how we would perform.

But then the Bulldogs took Sin City by storm.

We played like no one else had ever seen. The momentum never stopped, and neither did the points. We maintained this attitude all the way through and capped it off by cutting the winning net over Saint Mary’s down.

Flash forward to the second round of the NCAA tournament, when ESPN said we embarrassed Utah with a score of 82-59. Embarrassed is an understatement at best. While most of the other games in the tournament went into overtime and determined by buzzer beaters, Gonzaga was the only team that blew the second round out of the water.

Could a Cinderella team do that? Absolutely not. Only a skilled, determined team could have.

So many were quick to count us out, and then count us back in. In a latest article from ESPN, when they reshuffled seeds, they have us seeded second in our region. This is a significant jump from our seed coming into the tournament at eleven.

If you asked people two months ago whether Gonzaga would have made it into the Sweet Sixteen, most would have said no. Everyone was so quick to write Gonzaga off. Everyone that is, except Zag Nation.

The fans know that if there is one thing our team has that others don’t, it’s moxie. Moxie is defined as determination, force of character, or spunk. When people doubt us, whether it’s ESPN or fellow students, we only seem to do better. So many people said that we wouldn’t even make it to the first round. There was so much doubt.

Yet in the midst of all this doubt, the Bulldogs played like they were unstoppable. As Michael Jordan said, “My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength”. This quote is symbolic of the Zags season this year.

Keep doubting our skills and abilities because we will turn that perceived weakness into a Final Four appearance.

And as we enter the Sweet Sixteen about to face off against Syracuse University, I have no doubt we will continue to shatter expectations.

We are not a Cinderella story. There is no glass slipper. We are and will always be a heavy weight in the college basketball world. And in a few weeks, maybe national champions.