March Madness

Okay, a confession.

I love college basketball.

I know that this probably doesn't surprise most people, as I'm a pretty avid sports fan anyway, but I have a special place in my heart for March Madness.

This of course doesn't take away from my adoration for either my NY Giants or my beloved Red Sox, but there's something about rooting on the Orange in March that gets me all flustered and excited. 2003 was one of the best years ever (I mean, really...Carmelo, Gerry, Hakim...enough said) and with our #1 ranking this year, it looks like we've got a really good chance to actually progress pretty far in the tournament. Sure, I may have been just a little biased when I placed them as national champions in my bracket this year, but it's really not that far-fetched.

And it's not just Syracuse, either. I watch as many games as I can, even if I'm not that familiar with the teams. I watched the Vanderbilt/Murray State game this afternoon, and it was excellent. A buzzer-beater (0.7 seconds left! What?!?!) to win the game by one point? AMAZING. I was watching it at the gym, and I literally forgot to keep going on the stairstepper during the last twelve seconds or so of the game. The other people working out also were very confused by my random outbursts, since I don't think any of them were watching the game. Sure, it was Murray State that won, which messed with my bracket, but honestly I don't care, because the game was so good. The first four games of the tourney this year have been won by a combined twelve points. (I don't know about the rest of them played today, as I haven't checked the scores since getting back from dinner.) That's insane.

I could go into the details about all of the games so far, but I won't, because it's really boring and anyone that cares to know will look it up for themselves.

Syracuse plays their first game tomorrow against #16 Vermont. It should be a pretty easy win for the Orange, but honestly at this point there have been so many upsets that we can't take anything for granted. But you can bet that I'll be watching from start to finish, and yelling at the TV the whole time.

And the best part about March Madness? Since I don't like the NBA at all, it saves me at just the point where I'm starting to go through major football withdrawal, and once it ends, it's time for baseball season again!